William pours our mugs full of mead and we begin our second drinks of the night in total silence. With both of our gazes locked around different parts of the cabin I try to break the sullen atmosphere: "So, what's the story behind the cabin?" William looks lazily around the interior of the cabin and tells me: "This encampment is manned in shifts of half-a-year per the group stationed here, but as a special privilege I've been assigned to stay here indefinitely." From there I piece together the rest; the group of soldiers coming here is led by a knight as is the leaving group, which explains why there are only two knights here at the time, William and the arriving soldier's captain. The special "privilege" was probably given because he was out of the final battle thanks to the wound he gained, thus could not be killed in battle or during siege or however the final battle was fought. And when I talk about being killed in "battle" I mean that the winner probably executed all survivors of the opposing side after wards. 

Time goes on in silence, so I yet again try to talk, this time about something he has shown interest in: "So the forest is restricted area? For what reason?" His eyes light up a little and he says: "Nobody who goes there comes back, nor is there any indication of someone ever coming out from this direction." Before I can say anything from my point of view he continues: "We, and others before us have tried to circle around the forest but it just keeps going in no matter what directions you go in and if you ever cross from the plains to the forest, you simply gets lost no matter how near the edge you are." As I try wiggle in few question he has already readied himself to continue: "If you follow the shore line in the north with your ship, you might be able to reach the other side, but all men sent to study the forest and find food or water while "docking" near the forest's shore have been lost and no ship has had enough food to make the trip, to our knowledge anyway." That answers few questions, mainly why he's so interested in knowing where I come from, being found near forest. But really? No matter how near the plains you are you just get lost in there? What, do they simply walk deeper in trance? I think as I remember that no matter how I followed the track I always ended walking back where I started, near half-way point of the forest.

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I fall in a deep though as I remember crossing the forest in two days top and decide to inquire more: "So what happens if you tie a rope around the men send into the forest?" "You see them run in there too far to see and rope, chain or anything else you tied them with goes slack, then you pull out cut or broken rope or chain.""If you try to hold the rope by yourself you too simply run in there and tying it around something immovable just buys whoever you sent in there time till you stop watching him and yes, we have tried full time watches on the subject." Ah, so no matter what, when you cross the boulder you die. Nice to know that's the place where I come from like, definitely helps with my creeping suspicion that the wolf is responsible, it was pretty fast and smart after all.

Trying to make some sense of the situation I get a brilliant idea for a question: "Have you seen a big pillar of black smoke recently rising somewhere over the forest?" William looks me for moment and says: "Recently no, but there was indeed a that kinda occurrence 3-4 months ago." I'm bewildered for a moment, at first I think that I simply lost my consciousness during the transformation for longer that I had suspected, but then I remember the columns of spiraling smoke from the time of my awakening. If the smoke pillar didn't last for days, neither would those pillars, and with the facts that my sense of time has not been warped like my body, like I see from my interactions with people, and I don't remember sleeping at all this time, I must have been wandering in the forest for weeks. I have to make sure: "So around 90-120 days ago?" "Hmn? Shouldn't that be 120-160 with a month generally having 38-44 days in it? Or do they count the time with different way in your village?" A moment goes where I just stare the wall next to me till I ask: "How do you split the year?" "574 days in fourteen months, with 82 seven day weeks per a year" Comparing that to my words 365 days in twelve months, with 52 seven day weeks per a year is quite a shock, but I console myself with the thoughts like "maybe days are shorter here".