15 West

Pressed for time, Wulf takes a riverboat south toward Langarth, passing from the Fells into the Lakes and recalling childhood summers with Glorian. After a night at Marcott-on-Hallow, he rides on, unsettled by the looming haithwood that once haunted his youth.

At Langarth, Wulf greets the Mentish groom Riksard and reunites with his sister, Mara. They share affectionate banter about her prospects and his service in Hróth before seeking out Lord Edrick, who embraces Wulf with pride. The family resolves to spend the afternoon together.

Walking to a tenant’s holding, Wulf describes the stark beauty of Hróth and the housecarl life. Mara notes his Hróthi accent; Lord Edrick affirms his pride. They return muddy and cold to a prepared room steeped in Langarth’s history, where old heathen scratches remind Wulf of the place’s layered past and his recurring childhood dream of searching the blood-scented woods.

At supper, Lord Mansell and Roland arrive. The family shares food and stories; talk turns to troubling news from the Marshes where a hot pool boiled, killing four bathers. Wulf reports Hróthi mudpots recently surged as well, suggesting a wider, unexplained disturbance. They set politics aside for familial warmth and northern tales.

That night, the deathwatch beetles resurrect Wulf’s dread of the Lady of the Woods. Refusing to cower, he bears a candle to the window and faces the vast, ancient haithwood. As moonlight cloaks the tongueless trees, Wulf feels the forest’s gaze and the witch’s imagined summons, revealing his enduring fear and bond to Inys.