I found the brewery. By my beard, I have never seen so much mead (honey wine) in one place in my life. Small portions, large portions, and huge jugs of the stuff lined the shelves.

Someone with a strong desire to get drunk would certainly find this place heaven.

I found Borka, Gwenn's husband working on a steaming vat of brew. I mentioned the white wolf and immediately he said "No, don't kill the beast. I don't think it's evil at all. Talk to Gwenn, my wife. She loves to talk about it, so talk to her."

I found Gwenn between two kegs of mead, checking on their contents. "Kielreen sent me to talk to you about the White Wolf. Do you have any news about it? Ragnar wants me to kill it, and he seems really anxious about it for some reason." Gwenn looked very upset. "So, Kielreen told you to come here? I had better tell you what I know then."

We sat down on a bench, and she continued her story: "This big white wolf first showed up in the mountains a year ago, shortly after the death of our beloved chieftain, Wolfgar The White. Now, people normally fear wolves, they're quite deadly, you know, and have attacked villages, but this one is different. It doesn't appear hostile at all. Actually, people that have encountered this creature have claimed it's almost ..." she searched for the right word, "...friendly." I could tell there was an urgency in her voice, as if she knew more than she was telling, or that something in the back of her mind convinced her of something but couldn't be certain of it.

"The villagers think the this wolf was sent by the gods to protect us from Ragnar Fire Hair. You can tell how arrogent he is, and I feel he's an evil man. This wolf has blue eyes. Have you ever heard of such a thing on a wolf?"

"Anyway, Ragnar's a cruel hunter, and enjoys torturing his victims, but this wolf terrifies him in some way. This is why he wants newcomers to hunt and kill this wolf for him."

I could see why Kielreen said that things were not as they seemed. Ragnar was becoming more unlikeable all the time.

Gwenn continued: "He had some hunters returned here saying that they had hit the wolf with poison arrows. Since then, the wolf hasn't been seen at all. I fear it may be dead or dying somewhere."

"Listen, I know I cannot impose on you, but you should really speak to Laurenna. She's the daughter of Wolfgar the White. She doesn't live in the castle any longer, as Ragnar threw her out." "Really?" I replied. "Why?" Gwenn thought for a moment, then decided that since she was spilling the beans, she might as well empty the entire jar.

"Laurenna thinks that Ragnar had something to do with Wulfgar's death." "You think Ragnar killed him?" I asked. "I'm not sure," Gwenn replied, "but I'm sure she will tell you what she thinks." I asked where Laurenna was, and Gwenn said that she was staying in a hunting lodge behind the castle, up on a ridge.

It was getting really late, so I headed off to the inn for the night. Mystery is mystery, but sometimes you just have to catch 40 winks before delving into it.

Inside the inn, I found several people, all drinking mead. A group of hunters from Winterhold, in the province of Skyrim, were in the middle of the hall, singing songs.

As I headed over to the innkeeper, one of the hunters, Lisendra, said she wanted to speak with me. She also asked if I could buy her a drink.

Always willing to glean information from a reliable source, I agreed. In between mugs of mead, she told me about the white wolf, Ragnar Fire Hair, food shortages for the villagers because of Ragnar hording the food for his castle, hording mead for his castle, not letting the villagers hunt for their own food anymore, Laurenna moving out of the castle, and so on. After the 6th or 7th mug of mead, she became really incoherent.

I really need to stop taking vacations.

After sharing a ton of mead with Lisendra, I was pretty snockered myself. How these Nords can drink so much and still stand up is beyond me.  

I made my way to the desk, paid 10 gold for a room, and managed to make my way up the stairs without falling more than once.

Once in the room, I took off all the equipment I had, dropped it on the floor (I missed the table), and dropped into the bed for a long, sound sleep (and it was only 8PM).

The next morning found me up bright and early at 6AM with a splitting headache. My head felt like and army of Orks was marching on it. Unfortunately, no healing spell works on mead. I hoped the cold air would resolve that issue for me.

I left the inn, went around the side of the castle, found a passage up the side of the ridge, and yes, right there was Laurenna.

Hubba hubba.

Ahem, anyway, I told her that I had spoken to Gwenn. Laurenna had a lot to say. Ragnar threw her out of the castle because he thinks it's her fault that her mom won't marry Ragnar. From what I could piece together, Wulfren, her brother was accused of killing Wulfgar, their father. Wulfren has been missing since the murder. Laurenna's mother is being held captive in the castle tower (isn't that always the case???) until she agrees to tie the knot with Ragnar. Laurenna also feels the white wolf has been watching over the village for the past year. She's also concerned for it's health and well-being.

Always willing to help a damsel in destress, I agreed to help her find this white wolf and her brother, Wulfren. It was suggested that I speak to a friend of her's by the name of "Fjorngrin". She said he lives just southeast of the inn.

Back down the trail, around the side of the castle, and behind the inn....then off to explore. It was still cold, and my headache had disappeared in the cold air (the ache was probably frozen out of my head). I was stunned by the winter wonderland of this place. It all seemed so peaceful and serene. The snow-covered land-scape and falling snow gave the place a peaceful, sleepy feeling.