Dr. Wolf And The Taming of the Beard

"The smell of smoke no longer clings as tightly to Franklin as it did that fateful day when the well-bearded heroes finally took down The Enchantress that had terrorized so many. As the days passed, family bonds grew more robust, neighbors pulled together to help one another rebuild, and for a rare moment in his life, Dr. Wolf felt as if perhaps, he was welcomed in one place. Thoughts of Cremouth and dreams of the gallows had begun to fade, and with the help of his new friends here, he had taken over one of the damaged buildings, slowly turning it into what would soon be an open Doctor's office near the Franklin Inn.
With the trail of the Witch Doctor passed and his malevolent presence gone aboard the Mystic Waves, the townsfolk have started to lift their heads a little higher, shoulders a little straighter. Dr. Wolf, immaculately dressed in his ever-present bowler hat at a rakish angle, nods his morning greetings to fellow citizens as he passes, cane tick-ticking along the cobblestone. He makes his way to his almost complected doctor's office when a commotion before the unpainted doorstop has the good Dr. pause.

"What is going on here?" Dr. Wolf's low and gravelly voice cut through the sounds of several of Franklin's men grappling with a stranger half hog-tied with heavy rope.

"Found 'im in the bushes around here, Doctor," said one of the men. Jacob, one of the blacksmith's apprentices, a burly young man, is struggling to hold onto a skinny youth. "Caught 'im tryin' to steal one o' Martha's sheep from the pen."
Dr. Wolf's eyes narrowed sharply on this youth, his beard bristly and dry, going every direction except for down. Some of the pieces of the beard moved in a familiar pattern. A pattern not unlike—

"Bring him inside," Dr. Wolf commanded sharply, rapping his cane on the office's stoop. "Quickly now, and then you may go."

Jacob opened his mouth slightly in surprise. "But, Doctor…Sir—"
"Quickly now! And worry not lad, I know just what to do."

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You cannot remember how you got here or what this place is. You are seated in a chair before a man with a bowler hat, a desk between you. All around are the signs of a building half-finished. Within this room are unpainted walls, boxes of items, and furniture covered in protective tarps to keep the sawdust and dirt of the building at bay. The man's golden beard seems to shimmer, taking in the light of the half-covered window even though it sits behind him. He leans forward eagerly. Something in him speaks to you. Something…primal. Something…wild.
"How long?" He asks you quietly. "How long has it been since the beast has taken over and you've let yourself go?"

You open your mouth to answer him, but he squints at your beard—tangles, jutting in every direction, wiry, dry, and brittle. You reach up to scratch at its itchiness hard.

"Nevermind," he tells you. "I sense it has been a very, very long time. Perhaps," this man says, the second part softer as if to himself," you do not even know how to tame a wild beard."

"Very well," this golden and glossily bearded man says, clapping his hands together as if he has made up his mind. "I shall teach you, young pup, how to tame that wild beard and all else that I know. Perhaps we shall learn of our beasts together."

He begins to speak, and as he does, he places objects before you upon the desk.

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Listen and listen well, young pup. I shall teach you all you need to know about taming that wild beard. No doubt, like me in my youth, you awaken in the morning to find your beard uncontrolled. There is no shame in this; as I tell you, anyone with a beard has experienced such things, and we all face unique challenges with an unruly beard.

However, with a few things at hand, my friend, you can not only begin to tame that wild beast of a mane on your face but perhaps the beast within you, too.
We must start first with the proper tools. The first?

1. Beard Shampoo and Conditioner
I believe that the same principles in which we take care of the hair on our head apply to the whiskers we grow on our chin. Before brushing, styling, or anything, one must begin work with a cleansed and conditioned beard. Of course, I recommend starting with nothing less than the best for you and your beard, which would be the legendary Fable Beard Co.'s wash and conditioner created by the powerful Wizard himself.

Cleansing your beard removes oily build-up, grime, and debris like food or dead skin cells. Additionally, the Wizard guarantees only the finest of components are used. Ingredients like aloe vera, castor oil, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and argan oil, all of which nourish, strengthen, seal in moisture and soften that wild beard of yours for easier styling.

2. A Beard Comb and Brush
Once washed, you are ready for the next step, young pup. When your wild beard is in its young life, perhaps one to three months old, a bristle brush once a day and a Fable Beard oil or Beard Butter are an absolute must. A bristle brush assists in removing dirt, debris, and dead skin cells and help the even distribution of beard oil or Butter product reach hairs at every level evenly, trapping the much-needed oil within your beard better than a comb will.
However, should your beard be older than three months, it is best to add a comb to your routine after washing, conditioning, applying beard butter or oil, and using a bristle brush. A comb will be needed for a more mature, longer beard because it ensures detangling of the hairs. This is an essential step to taming your wild whiskers. Not only does it detangle your beard, but doing so daily will assist in training the follicles of the hair.
With a wash, conditioner, beard oil or butter, brush, or comb, you have laid the foundation necessary for a healthier, tamer beard, and should you choose, be ready to style your previously wild beard.

3. Styling: Taming the Beast
Washing and conditioning, then brushing or combing, will help straighten out a messy beard, but it is often not an all-day solution. Especially during the first few weeks of learning to tame your beard, there will be scraggly hairs aplenty and flyaways. To ensure that your beard falls as glorious as mine, you'll want to apply a healthy, lightweight Fable Beard Balm to style.

Fable's Beard Balm is packed with ingredients freshly enchanted to be free of DHT-inhibiting components with all-natural cold-pressed oils and the same reliable ingredients to ensure conditioning, protection, strength, and hold.
What's that, my friend? Do you not know how to style your beard? Worry not. I surmise I have given you quite the amount of information already, and perhaps, now that you are in full possession of your faculties and senses, you might wish to rest.

In that case, I have a proposal for you, young pup…

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The massive Dr. Wolf leans eagerly forward over his desk, now cluttered with all of today's first lessons in beard care and taming the wild beast that was on your face. There is a glimmer in his eye, something like hope—there and gone in a flash.

"I propose a mutual partnership between you and me, aye? My friends and I will teach you all that we know along with my years of experience with this… beast we share, and we shall work together to find a means to be rid of it for good. What say you?"

The man's massive hand, more like an animal's paw than a palm, is presented for you to shake on the deal. You cannot help but notice that his fingernails seem a little too sharp in the right light, like his teeth. Much like your own.

You glance away from him to the hand he offers and back again, clasping his wrist firmly to shake on it. For better or worse, you've found someone like you. Someone to teach you how to tame those feral bristles on your face. But the question remains.

Do you trust him? Can you trust him?

Time, and the next lesson, can only tell."