Keil's forehead glistened with sweat. With every breath he lost another part of his strength, which had shrunk considerably in the last few days. Slowly he brushed his red hair back from his forehead. That already made him different somehow. Hardly anyone had red hair. But the fact that he was alone in the woods didn't make it any better either. He had run far and hadn't even stopped to breathe. Now at last he stopped. In front of him, in a wide clearing, he finally saw the creature he was after. The bear that killed his parents was only ten paces in front of him. He took an arrow from his quiver. Slowly he put it on his bow. He aimed precisely and withdrew the string. In his mind he saw the torn corpses of his parents. He followed the huge bear tracks that were all over the home yard. He went through the hardships of the last few days again. New anger sprouted in him. He pulled the string back a little further.The bow and his nerves were very tense. All his efforts and all his anger were focused on this one moment. He hesitated a minute longer. Then another.
'Darn it, why don't I shoot? I've been waiting for this moment for almost a week! Why don't I finally shoot! '
His hand was trembling. He slowly lowered the bow. His mind raced wildly. He was after the bear for five days and now, at the crucial moment, he hesitated!
'How so? Why can't I shoot? Why not? I want to! I have to! The beast killed my parents! And almost half our village! I have to kill it! The whole village trusts it! '
But instead of lifting the bow again, he lowered it further. He bowed his head. Disappointed about his own ineptitude, he put the arrow away, turned around and suddenly noticed the funny little creature next to him.
'Oh no! A bear cub! Then the bear is over there, the little one's mother!And she will surely ... '
He made a quick jump to the left and crawled into the safe shade of a tree. He didn't think twice and held his breath. Then he felt that the floor vibrated slightly. The she-bear came up to him! He only suspected that she was actually approaching her cub. Didn't bears have an amazingly good sense of smell? If so, then he was in a pretty mess. He could only hope that she was more interested in her cub than anything else.
'Hope dies last. I can only ... No, I'm not getting sentimental now. But one more thing ... Please don't! '
The she-bear kept walking towards him. He counted the steps. Eight more steps and she would have reached him. Seven more ... six ...
'If there are any gods out there, they mustn't be so terrible!'
Five more ... His heart was racing faster and faster.
Four ... It'll be over in a minute. Then that was it for him.
Three steps ... Did she notice him?Two ... He didn't pray often, but now he did.
One step .. He could already feel the bear's breath on the back of his neck.
'Well, that's it then. Goodbye lonely world. I will miss you.'
Just as he was sure it would end up as bear food, he heard the buzz of a shot arrow and the snap of a bowstring. The arrow did not hit the she-bear, but went by a hair's breadth. Warning enough for her to disappear with her boy. She did that promptly, growling cautiously until she finally turned around and disappeared.
"She's gone. You can come out again."
Keil heard this soothing voice and immediately felt safe again. As he slowly straightened, his knees wobbled ominously. The stranger who had saved him supported him.
"Be careful, boy, or you'll fall over."
He looked into the face of a relatively old man. He was wearing a dark brown cloak with the hood pulled down over his face.His long beard hid much of his face, which was deeply wrinkled.
"Thank you. You probably saved my life."
"Yes, I see it that way too. Can you go?"
Keil took a few careful steps and nodded.
"I think so."
"Good. Because I couldn't carry you."
Keil nodded again. The man became more and more sympathetic to him.
"Are you from Tringald?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I've come from a long way off. I'm visiting different cities and villages for a special mission. Do you have any other things with you, besides the little backpack and the bow?"
Keil said no. He lost all his belongings when the villagers burned their yard to frighten the bear away.
"So can we leave right now? I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"Good. I have nothing more to do. We can go immediately."
"You probably know your way around here better than I do, so you can show me the way.""Yes."
Wedge led the way. The man walked right behind him.
"I don't want to be too curious," began Keil.
"Hahaha! My name is Berlot. But I'm also quite curious. What's your name?"
"I'm Keil. Where are you from?"
"You know, I've been to a lot of places. But nowhere long enough to call it home. And stop saying 'you' to me! Just say you and Berlot. Sure?"
It wasn't a real threat, but Keil obediently saluted. Of course not without a mocking grin.
"Naturally!"
They went a little further when Berlot said it was time to set up camp. Keil collected wood for a campfire while Berlot collected larger stones to stop the fire. When Keil came back with the wood, he had a dead hare in his arms.
"Our dinner.", He answered Berlot's questioning look. He had noticed that Berlot (like him) had nothing but cheese and bread as provisions."You think for yourself. Very practical. But tell me what you prefer to do. Skin the rabbit or fire?"
Keil chose the first option. He wanted to show him that he wasn't as inexperienced as he had known him. With quick movements he had skinned the hare with his hunting knife. After that, he started gutting it thoroughly and burying any inedible organs. Then he took three sticks. Two of them had branched ends. He sharpened the bottom of these sticks and stabbed them into the ground on either side of the campfire. He adjusted the third to fit the length between the other two. It left more space on one side than on the other so that the stick could still be turned. With practiced grips he removed the bark. Then he took his water hose and scraped off the resin. Finally he impaled the rabbit and the edible organs and hung the stick over the fire. There was now enough time to speak to Berlot. But this came before him."You certainly have a lot of questions for me. But be aware, and I'll only say that once, I can't answer them all. I also want to ask you a few things. And make you aware that the rabbit is on one side pretty blown. "
Keil turned the stick quickly. He looked uncertainly into the old man's face. Was he allowed to ask questions? When he saw the encouraging smile on his face, he breathed a sigh of relief. He actually had an awful lot of questions on the tip of his tongue.
"You say you came from a long way away. How far?"
"Well, I've been to every end of the empire. I've been to every town and village. I've even been to neighboring countries. Even where the famous dragon riders once ruled. But I couldn't finish my mission. My last hope is your village Tell me, do many young people live there like you?
"W ... what do you mean?"
"Are many there as brave as you?"
"Well ... well, not all, but a few."
"How old are you?""Me? I'm fifteen. Why do you care?"
"Well, I thought you were about that old, too. But it still surprises me. Not every fifteen-year-old chases such a huge bear alone. Why did you do that?"
Suddenly, Keil felt that endless pain again. He became aware of the loss of his parents once more. Anger rose in him. He was a coward! He had actually hesitated to kill the beast that had killed his parents! Berlot noticed his restlessness and spoke to him reassuringly:
"You have a lot of anger in you. But I can also feel the pain you went through. This she-bear probably killed your family. You are sad. And you hate this creature. But calm down. Senseless excitement often only leads to problems. Let go. Let it be." don't let it get that far, but suppress the pain, however severe it may be. Otherwise it will kill you! "
Wedge looked at him. What he said was true. He had only ever seen hatred and anger.He didn't know what he would have done after the bear was dead.
"You're right. With everything you've said. I'm ashamed of my reactions. I wouldn't have known what to do if I'd killed the bear."
"Insight is the first path to improvement. I can feel your mind gradually calm down again."
Keil didn't ask how he knew. He didn't really care either. The two talked a little longer until the rabbit was done. They ate in silence. Wedge threw the sticks into the embers. He added more wood. Soon a small fire was burning again that was supposed to scare away animals. He spread out his bedclothes and wished Berlot good night. He turned his back to the fire. More had happened today than he expected. But before he could think about it, he fell asleep.

Keil slept better than the last few nights. Berlot was already awake when he woke up. He held up a plate and said with a grin:"While you were snoring peacefully, I already made breakfast for us. It's not much, but at least it is something. Now eat. Then we'll set off again. I think we'll be there in three days."
He sat down next to him in silence.
"Thanks."
He took the plate. After a few bites, he realized that the cheese had a special taste. Even if it was inevitably old, it tasted better than any other cheese he had ever tasted. He looked at the old man in surprise. He seemed to have been watching him because he was grinning widely.
"Tastes good?"
Keil could only nod. This man must have traveled a long way. It amazed him that such an old man could travel halfway across the world.
After they finished eating, they washed the plates clean with sand. Keil packed up his things while Berlot extinguished the embers with his water hose. After a few minutes they finally left. The miles flew by as they walked silently side by side.Neither of them really wanted to speak. So they could both indulge their thoughts.