ã€ŠAfter Ragnarok (GL - Norse Progression Fantasy)ã€‹


 Prologue - Red Stained Snow

    It was a beautiful day to die.

    The air was cool and filled with fresh falling snow, Sol warmed the realm from her distant throne which blazed with light and fire and stretching across the sky, so far away and so incredibly vast, were the fire blackened branches of Yggdrasil, something about them was soothing like looking at the stars, the scorched patches of ash and the shimmering green regrowth far above the world made mortal concerns seem so small.

    Yes, it was a beautiful day to die¡­ but not quite yet.

    Hallr Magnison pushed himself back onto his feet, his gut wound had finally stopped bleeding which wasn''t actually a good sign considering he hadn''t bandaged it yet. Probably wouldn¡¯t get the chance to either, would he?

    His fur lined boots skidded as he stumbled along the frost webbed stones of fortresses floor, stepping around the corpses and the red stained snow. Hallr could hear HER footsteps getting closer, the traitor, she was cautious now but arrogance was overriding it, far too trusting these cultist types.

    Hallr favoured his left slightly more than needed as he pushed himself out of the shadow of the blood-stained obelisk. His arm dragged behind him, his axe trailing through the snow, the sound it made was inaudible under the steady roaring of the snowstorm.

    She was getting closer, she thought he was already done for stumbling out his last breath on the way to Valhalla, but Hallr was an Iron Rank, he didn¡¯t die easy.

    Through the roar of the storm Hallr heard it, the popping crackle of frozen blood breaking under a boot, the traitor had walked across the spot he¡¯d been thrown. Without another thought Hallr spun and struck like an uncoiling snake, he ignored his muscles burning the dimness of his vision the screaming of his dying body, all that mattered was the blow. Raising his rune carved axe hight Hallr sucked in Odium from the air, the light, the life around him and pushed it into the runes carved into his body by time and effort and years of practise. The power lit up his body, burning along his skin the Exalted Style of Magni, seventh form, thunder and strife.

    His axe bucked in his grip, the durability rune the only thing keeping it whole as he the echo of the Aesir lashed out through him, lightning crackled and thunder roared as the traitors¡¯ eyes widened in panic. Hallr lurched forwards his axe biting the air as he hurled it over arm, shrouded with lightning it sang as it flew, faster than a sparrow, right at the traitor¡¯s throat.

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    The traitor called upon a divine style of her own, one Hallr didn¡¯t recognise, a mass of light swelling out of her chest like a breastplate blocking his axe. But it didn¡¯t matter, people saw the lightning, but they forget the thunder.

    The wave of sound and solid air slammed into the traitor like a falling tree, it swept her up, lifted her from the ground, and hurled her into the wall so hard that bricks were pushed from their lattice and tumbled down into the blizzard outside.

    The storm faded, the axe shattered, Hallr collapsed. He was well and truly broken now, invoking like that had taken what little he¡¯d had left and more besides.

    Sprawled on the ground gasping for each shallow breath Hallr heard a distinctive pop and crackle as the traitor squeezed her fist closed.

    Lifsblut, he realised and managed a wry grin, she needed to cheat to beat me even now, not bad.

    ¡°You really couldn¡¯t just lie down and die, could you?¡± She asked, her voice was so different now, devoid of the sweetness, the hope, that had drawn him to her¡­ but of course that had all been part of her lie.

    ¡°You could have joined us, I gave you a chance, we could have had a place at His side... together¡±

    She was next to him again, her sword hanging above his head like an executioner¡¯s axe.

    ¡°I gave you the option.¡± She said, no guilt in her eyes.

    Hallr nodded idly, she had at that but it hadn''t been very tempting, I mean would you join something that bills itself explicitly as a Ragnar?k cult?

    ¡°It didn¡¯t have to end like this.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it did.¡± Hallr wheezed, or tried to, as he raised right hand up in front of his face and crushed the brittle flash bomb he held.

    A surge of pure white light washed across the platform, so harsh it was almost solid, it sent the traitor staggering back howling in pain and clawing at her face as Hallr hauled himself upright one final time, broken bones screamed, torn organs howled but something let him move.

    Behind him the traitor slashed madly at the air, he ignored her, stumbling along the corridor, towards the altar.

    Just a few more steps across the fresh snow from the broken windows.

    Just a few more steps the ruined stone so long neglected.

    Just¡­ a¡­. few¡­ the shallow stairs and¡­

    Hallr felt something cold in his chest, looking down with faint curiosity he saw¡­ ah she¡¯d stabbed him in the heart, this time literally.

    But he¡¯d already gotten his hand on the altar and, as his corpse toppled over, its weight twisted an ancient mechanism into place.

    The traitor howled in fury, hacking at his body again and again but Hallr couldn¡¯t feel any pain just satisfaction. After millennia of idleness the altar activated, the runes on its surface gleaming with strange light as the ancient engine reignited and threw back the Fimbulwinter, the endless hungry storm hurled away. Beyond the tower the wind quieted and Hallr Magnison looked up at the clear blue sky and the branches of Yggdrasil with only one last thought in his mind.

    It really was a beautiful day to die.

 Chapter 1 - Soup of Failure

    <u>Chapter 1</u>

    ¡°Ulfgard? That place is bad news kid, stick to these here docks for a good few years before you think of playing the game near the fancy lords and the jarls court. Last time one of us tried five finger fishing around there they swiped the money pouch of an Ulfheenar ¡­ we only found the poor guy¡¯s belt buckle and that was in a tree¡­. Not even a tree near here!¡±

    -Words of Turin Nine Fingers to a prospective pickpocket.

    ¡°It¡¯s ruined.¡±

    "Sigyn¡¯s spite!" Erika Yrsasdottir, apprentice Vitki and proficient curser (in more ways than one), thumped her head on the fancy wood counter and desperately tried not to cry. She was in so much trouble... actually trouble wasn¡¯t really a strong enough word, trouble would be being savaged by a bright wolf. This on the other hand was a catastrophe, a disaster, this was a grand mist wyrm tearing down the front gates and making a nest in your damn bedroom.

    On the countertop, just next to Erika¡¯s head, was the source of her problems. A hand and a half-sized lump of bone that was badly burned and a glass orb bigger hand her head which had previously been filled with a soup of expensive reagents, now it was a bubbling black stew of failure.

    ¡°Hey hey easy on the counter Erika.¡± Said Asira gently patting Erika on the head. Asira was one of Erika¡¯s oldest friends in all senses of the word, despite looking and acting like a youth in her teens Asira was probably older than her teacher, but Jotunkin aged more slowly than human. ¡°Look your mother won¡¯t mind too much, right? I¡¯m sure she can fix it ¡­ she¡¯s probably got some spell for that right?¡±

    Erika let the stinging in her forehead fade then she pushed herself back upright and sighed. ¡°Yeah¡­ maybe¡­ she might have one.¡± But it didn¡¯t matter did it, said a poisonously sweet part of Erika¡¯s mind, she left it to you your responsibility and you ruined it, you dropped her focus into a vat of magick acid.

    ¡°What¡¯s it for anyway Erika?¡± Asked Asira still staring at the bubbling jug.

    Erika nodded glumly. ¡°The soup is the reagents mother was making for the temple¡­

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s not to bad, I can probably talk to the Grand Gothi if you wanted? Get you a delay?¡±

    ¡°¡­ and the bone was the focus for a 6<sup>th</sup> circle spell mother was commissioned to cast by the Jarl herself.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    Erika had one last idea. ¡°You don¡¯t know a rune to¡­ undo it, do you?¡±

    Asira did at least think about it for a few heartbeats before she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m just an apprentice Erika, the runes that lord Magni has sent me can¡¯t do anything like that yet. Probably never will, you¡¯d want a Gothi of Eir maybe or Vidar I suppose¡­ normally I¡¯d tell whoever was asking to get a Vitki to help but¡­¡±

    Apprentice Vitki Erika, the only Vitki in Leirhofn, sighed so forcefully that a newspaper left carelessly on the edge of the bench fell off and slapped dryly onto the floor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve considered faking a theft?¡±

    Erika paused for a long moment before huffing and looking away. ¡°Anyone else Asi and I¡¯d do it with a smile¡­ but not my mother sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologise for that Erika! I think it¡¯s sweet seeing your loyal side.¡±

    Erika made the sign of Fenris at her old friend who giggled and shook her head. ¡°Fine fine¡­ thanks Asi, I owe you one for this.¡±

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    Asira shook her head. ¡°No debts between friends, I was on break anyway just¡­ I''m sure it will all work out, ok?¡±

    Erika nodded vaguely staring at the bone and bottle, they taunted her sat on the counter the only spot of colour in this dusty workshop¡­ Eriak paused for a moment and squinted, the soup stuff was black that¡¯s not colourful, then why is it flashing red?

    Erika reached out and gently pushed the bottle aside, behind it, crushed against the wall, was a square of paper nailed to the wall. Freed from its glassy prison it unfurled revealing the splattering of red ink Erika has seen to be an amateurish seal daubed flyer covered in crude type.

    <u>Delvers Wanted!</u>

    Experienced Delvers required for the expedition of a lifetime!

    The Silvermane syndicate is gathering a team of experienced warriors and explorers to recover a treasure from the depths of the Fimbulwinter.

    Deadly enemies expected! Vast rewards guaranteed!

    Delver¡¯s guild membership desired but not required.

    Pay: two hundred silver penningar paid by the Silvermane mercantile syndicate who will also pay market value +10% for first bidding upon any other valuables that delvers retrieve from the expedition site.

    Accepting any and all applications but applicants must be the certified to possess the skills of a Delvers Guild Bronze Rank or higher.

    All interested parties report to the Dancing Droog tavern.

    Two hundred silver penningar!  That was more than most people earned in a life time! A good house in a fancy city would cost fifty and a rune weapon a handful more, the ingredients she wasted¡­ they couldn¡¯t be worth more than that could they?

    Gently Kamiliah reached out a hand and tore the poster off its nail. The details were very vague about nearly everything except the location which was concerning instead, the Fimbulwinter covered a good eighth of Midgard¡¯s surface even after Ragnar?k ended, whole nations and empires had died within it and some even said the corpses of the old Aesir lay undiscovered in the endless blizzard, it was the most dangerous place in the realm¡­ but two hundred silver was two hundred silvers.

    ¡°¡­ERIKA!¡±

    Erika started and look around at a very unamused Asira, her blue skin was flushed purple with anger and she¡¯d drawn herself up to her full height intimidating height. ¡°You aren¡¯t thinking of taking that are you?¡± She asked her voice like ice and syrup.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    Asira recoiled skin flushing a deeper colour ¡°Why noy? WHY NOT?! Because it¡¯s dangerous! Because you might die!¡±

    ¡°I might not!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s in the Fimbulwinter!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pack my best coat then.¡±

    If it wasn''t for the seal Erika would have just ignored the notice as a bad joke or some rich kids passing fancy but the Silvermane syndicate was different, nearly a thousand years old and still run by the golem who gave it her name, they were richer than she could even imagine.

    This could be it, the answer to all her problems, maybe the gods had heard her prayers? They did tend to more flashy answers but subtle wasn''t unheard of.

    ¡°Erika!¡±

    Erika turned her full attention to her friend as a blue finger the size of a shortsword jabbed at her collar bone. ¡°This isn''t a joke!¡±

    ¡°I know I know... but two hundred silvers, I can replace all of mother¡¯s ingredients and even buy a new focus from some bone picker, this could fix it!¡±

    Asira sighed. ¡°I get it Eri but what¡¯s the chance you even come back? Expeditions get lost all the time, the delvers go on and on about it when they quote their prices, even if the caravans make it back you might not, do you even know how to fight?¡±

    Erika was down but not out. ¡°Throw spells till they stop moving?¡±

    ¡°Actual fighting Eri, footwork and courage especially, can you dodge attacks? Stand firm in the face of a charge? Can you stomach the blood, the pain, the exhaustion?¡±

    Erika flushed. ¡°Can you!?¡±

    ¡°NO that¡¯s why I''m not a fighter just like you aren¡¯t!¡±

    Erika and Asira stared at each other then the Vitki deflated and shrunk in on herself tucking a loose strand of white hair back behind her ear as she did so. ¡°Ok ok you made your point Asi.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Asira muttered as she sank back onto her stool. ¡°Look I can help you get a loan or something if you need it ok? Or talk with some of the temple staff and get you some help, I may be an apprentice but I¡¯ve got some pull for bartering, but not this Erika, this will just get you killed.

    ¡°Yeah yeah¡­ you¡¯re right.¡± Erika frowned and tapped her nail on the notice. ¡°Besides it needs a bronze rank that¡¯s¡­ the second rank right?¡±

    ¡°Yep, still experienced fighters only.¡±

    ¡°No no I get that¡­ I mean that¡¯s like¡­ what¡­ the 3rd circle of spells¡­ I¡¯d what? Need to pretend to be a higher rank than I am for the interview and then for months on end and fake using higher circle spells that I can¡¯t even cast all on a highly dangerous expedition whilst working alongside experts? I mean they probably don¡¯t need many spells cast at a time and they won¡¯t have another Vitki who can gainsay me¡­but no it wouldn¡¯t work and it¡¯s totally wrong, I¡¯ll have to find the money another way.¡±

 Chapter 2 - A meeting

    The Dancing Droog was a proper tavern which meant it was built on the edge of the city in a district that looked like a small war had been fought in it built on the edge of the trollheim, the cities slums that looked like wars were fought there, and it stank of beer, meat and sweat. Physically it was designed to look like an upturned longship despite the watery beer being the nearest it had ever come to the sea and the line of pasty farmers stood outside the closest thing it had to a crew.

    Erika ignored them of course, queues were for other people, walking right up to the taverns open door without giving the line a second glance. A few of the queuers looked like they wanted to say something as she walked past them but the taverns bright runelamps shone off the partitioned blue and red of her cape and they wisely closed their mouths and got back to waiting. Nobody dared draw the ire of a Vitki, not if they wanted to wake up tomorrow the same shape they were today.

    Trying not to gag on the fumes that billowed from the doorway Erika shoved her way into the Dancing Droog, ignored a few more people who were stood in a sort of waiting square inside, and marched up to a woman who was stood behind a low basalt slab that looked like it served as a sort of reception desk.

    ¡°Welcome to the Dancing Scorith Vitki, do you wish to be shown to one of our private rooms or do you have a reservation?¡± The woman had looked relaxed before, with the calm countenance of a lifelong customer service agent, but Erika saw how her eyes had widened and heard how her voice rose, nobody dared be rude to a Vitki which was nice but Erika dint enjoy the fear.

    Erika dropped the flyer on the counter top and tried a smile, the woman flinched, Erika stopped smiling. ¡°I''m here for this¡­ where are they?¡±

    The woman looked like she would rather be anywhere else but managed a shaky customer service smile and pointed towards crude dip in the floor with a set of rough stairs stretching downwards. ¡°Uh¡­ the second basement level ma¡¯am¡­ uh they¡­ uh¡­¡±

    Erika sighed ignoring the stammering girl and headed down the stairs, the first level wasn''t interesting, a few locked storage rooms and a half wall of beer kegs but the next was far more interesting, a nearly cavernous hall twice the length of the surface building, runelamps filled the room with their golden glow and from where Erika stood, she could see a half dozen small tables surrounded by cushioned stools and privacy partitions and a handful of thralls were scurrying back and forth ferry food and drink to the two people sat in the centre of the room, two people who Erika had heard of, two people who shouldn¡¯t be here.

    ¡°Oh, we have a guest? And a Vitki at that!¡±

    ¡°The Aesir smile on us, do sit down young lady.¡±

    Erika did so in a daze staring with her mouth open, the pair who sat before her didn¡¯t look very impressive apart from how mismatched they were. On the left was a young blonde man with a fussy little goatee dressed nondescriptly in layered robes of rust red and earthy brown hues but it was the kind of blandness that takes hours of effort to achieve.

    The other was a middle-aged sagaborn, the descendent of someone whose personal story actually changed their children¡¯s forms. She looked like a humanoid bear woman, powerfully built and covered in muscle with fur along her arms and short black claws on her fingertips. She was beaming at Erika with the kind of smile that seemed like a permeant fixture of her face.

    Of course, none of that wasn''t the reason for her staring, instead it was because she heard them describe before, by bards retelling the Saga¡¯s of the greatest Delvers of the empire.

    ¡°Silverblossom and Sunblade?¡±

    The pair turned to each other smiled with mutual embarrassment.

    ¡°¡­ I told you we should have put our names on the posters to avoid just this!¡±

    ¡°Fewer people would have come! We tend to be¡­ intimidating to the people around here.¡±

    ¡°Maybe but at least, they wouldn¡¯t be so shocked, I can practically see her Sal leaving her body!¡±

    As the living legends began to bicker Erika suddenly realised her own lack of tact, closing her mouth and blushing violently Erika sputtered out an appropriate greeting. ¡°I am Erika, daughter of Aila¡­. Journeywoman Vitki of the third circle.¡±

    The hero¡¯s stooped their back and forth and gave her their full attention again, Erika had to resist running. ¡°Excellent, it¡¯s nice to meet you. You know us already but I¡¯ll do the polite thing, I am Sigrun Stelasdottir known by the title Silverblossom and this is Alvis Andar titled Sunblade because of his fancy fancy knife.¡±

    ¡°An honour to meet you,¡± said Alvis completely ignoring Sigrun and instead favouring Erika with a charming smile. ¡°I assume you are here for about the expedition? We didn¡¯t expect to get a Vitki interested.¡±

    Erika, already overwhelmed by meeting two folk heroes, slump forwards in her seat. ¡°Do you even need me here? You were both silver ranks last I checked, can¡¯t you two fight a whole army alone and win?¡±

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    Sigrun laughed uproariously. ¡°We might be good but we can¡¯t be everywhere, even we get tired you know!? But that¡¯s for later, relax and eat with us do you want anything specific?¡±

    As Erika went to decline, she felt her stomach rumble and after a second¡¯s thought realised that she¡¯d skipped breakfast in her panic that morning, she was famished.

    ¡°Yes actually¡­ they got any beef?¡±

    ¡°The best beef, ant just like a haunch?¡± Exclaimed Sigrun still smiling broadly, for all her laughter and bluster Erika had noticed that her eyes were gimlet sharp.

    ¡°Yes please¡­.¡±

    Alvis waved one of the thralls over, a few moments later there was much scurrying as tankards and bowls were brought forwards, Erika quickly tucked into the roasted beef and watched as Alvis toyed with a single sliced apple and Sigurn devoured what looked like half a pig on her own.

    Sigrun gave Erika a thumbs up then leant back away with a sated sigh. ¡°Ah that¡¯s good¡­ would you like a glass of something before we get down business?¡±

    Erika shook her head demurely and Alvis lifted something up from below the table, it looked like a clock had somehow mated with a crystal geode and then the subsequent abomination had been inverted through three dimensions and shoved into a mirror, it hurt the eye just to look at it as Alvis dropped it on the table.

    ¡°It¡¯s a security device,¡± Said Sigurn said answers Erika¡¯s unasked question. ¡°It prevents eavesdropping and snooping¡­ just don¡¯t look at it to hard or your eyes pop.¡±

    Before Erika could react Alvis cuffed Sigurn around the ear. ¡°Please ignore my companion¡­ now before we go any further, I must have your oath that you will not pass any of the information we will give you to anyone without our direct permission.¡±

    Erika looked at Alvis for a moment, oaths were serious business after all, the gods got really intense if someone broke an oath spoken in their name but it wasn''t like Erika really had many options, she did need the money.

    ¡°I give you my oath in the name of Fulla, Vor, Var and Syn, your secrets stay with me, so I swear.¡± Erika listed the four goddesses she respected the most and waited for the buzz, it crackled across her skin and filled the room with the smell of lightning as a tiny fraction of a fraction of a god cast its eyes upon her.

    Alvis nodded and smiled a small thin smile behind his goatee. ¡°Excellent¡­ now the full details aren¡¯t necessary but some background is. Silvermane employs a handful of Vitki full time at extreme expense as you can no doubt imagine, two of them are master of the Hamingja and its magic¡­¡±

    ¡°The guardian? So, fate changers then¡­ I guess a high circle?¡±

    Alvis nodded. ¡°Last I heard they were capable of casting 7<sup>th</sup> circle spells, anyway they do general fate reading for Silvermane and recently one of those came back with a series of prophecies and visions which lead us to locate a small temple on the edge of the Fimbulwinter, an Iron ranked team happened to be nearby and Silvermane hired them¡­ they¡¯ve failed to report back. As a result, a full expedition was planned lead by two silver ranks guiding a heavy caravan of supplies and reinforcements.¡±

    ¡°Usually you don¡¯t get all that,¡± interrupted Sigurn. ¡°But Silvermane¡¯s the ring-giver for this job so she¡¯s just throwing money at the problem.¡±

    ¡°For which I am eternally thankful.¡± Said Alvis dryly. ¡°Silvermane has reason to believe a very valuable item is housed in that temple, we will march to the storm, penetrate the Fimbulwinter outer layer and breach the temple, relocate the Iron team and reclaim the item. All around the expedition should take a month and a half at most.¡±

    Sigrun nodded. ¡°That¡¯s basically it perils, powers and payoffs are all guaranteed so¡­ what can you do?¡±

    Erika felt herself nearly spinning with the sudden barrage of information but she leapt gamely back into the conversation, she needed to persuade them to take her. ¡°Uh I¡­ I know a number of ancient languages and as you can see, I am a Vitki of the journeywoman rank able to cast up to the 3<sup>rd</sup> circle of spells I specialise in Hamr spells.¡±

    That was her trump card and she saw that she¡¯d judged correctly, both of her interrogators were now looking at her in an entirely new light. Alvis had a glint of avarice in his eyes and Sigrun was shamelessly ogling her.

    ¡°You¡¯re a flesh warper?¡± Said Alvis slowly, writing something on a slate he¡¯d produced from inside his robe.

    Erika narrowed her eyes very slightly. ¡°That is the colloquial name,¡± she said slowly. ¡°The correct one is Life Shaper.¡±

    ¡°Is that your full skill set?¡± Asked Alvis seemingly impervious to Erika annoyance.

    Before Erika could speak Sigrun tapped her claws on the tabletop and nodded. ¡°He means do do you have a rank with the delver¡¯s guild? Do you have any training in arms or anything?¡±

    Erika shook her head. ¡°No, I''m a Vitki so I never saw a reason to get ranked with the guild and same with the weapons, what would be the point when I have magick at my command?¡±

    Sigrun seemed to frown for a fraction of a second but Alvis seemed entirely unfazed, he simply wrote a few more lines on the slate, nodded to himself, and slipped it back into his robe.

    After Erika shook her head, Alvis deftly slipped a few more tablets from his cape and began fiddling with them. ¡°Thank you for your application, the Silvermane consortium will consider your services¡­¡±

    Sigrun cut of Alvis with a raised hand. ¡°He means you¡¯re in kid, you¡¯re a Vitki after all and you haven¡¯t been scared off, we¡¯ll all meet up tomorrow morning near the temple of Magni, expedition leaves at noon, be there early.¡±

    ¡°Uh yeah.¡± Erika found her mind racing entirely out of her control, she¡¯d done it she¡¯d done it.

    ¡°You will be provided with all necessary provisions tomorrow morning, you¡¯ll be given either a Droog to ride or space on one of the wagons, bring any personal items you will need with you and please do remember your oath Vitki, a number of other parties are interested in our expedition and will doubtless try to buy the information from you.¡±

    Sigrun nodded and put a companiable hand on Erika¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Usually, we¡¯d warn against blackmail or kidnapping but again¡­ Vitki¡­ so they¡¯d need to be polite with you, but your oath still stands so¡­ don¡¯t listen to them, ok?¡±

    Erika nodded, not trusting her voice anymore, she was already in danger before she left the city? Why did her saliva taste like metal? What was going on!

    ¡°Ah it looks like we got another bite?¡±

    Erika vaguely saw a sagaborn lurking in the doorway up, he shuffled forwards on hoofed feet when Alvis gestured. A moment later he was deep in conversation with the man as Sigurn steered Erika expertly back towards the door.

    ¡°Make sure you get here early!¡± She said cheerfully as Erika found herself cast out of the door, stood on the side of the road cold and flustered and anxious beyond belief Erika snarled a handful of curses and, head throbbing and heart racing, headed for home.

    She was going to drink all the mead.

 Chapter 3 - Waking up Smashed

    Erika woke up and groaned in pain. Not a good start to the day she just about managed to think between the heartbeat of white agony blazing in her forehead.

    Part of the problem was how little sleep she¡¯d gotten and the whole spending a day in an anxious haze but the mead was also part of the problem¡­ yeah, the mead didn¡¯t do her any favours, she could see the light creeping in under her shutters, she didn¡¯t have time to be hung over. Reaching out with a single dainty finger Erika traced a pattern in the air, into the air, cutting into it like blade into snow.

    She¡¯d tried to explain it before of course, every Vitki tries at least once, tries to explain magic to someone without it, how it feels but... well I could use the blind/colour cliche but it isn¡¯t like that at all. The best way to describe it is a story, magic isn''t maths (unless your one of those vracian weirdos) it¡¯s nothing mechanical or formulaic, it¡¯s a saga, poetry, a day dream, it¡¯s something you feel not think, you tell a story and the realm stops and listens.

    Even the shapes she cut into the air were the same as they were yesterday, they were part of the story, part of the saga and her magick. Erika clenched bits of herself that didn¡¯t exist, sucking in Odium from the realm around her and pushing it into her Sal, access to one of the schools of magic was linked to igniting one of the parts of the Sal, an arch-sage had all of their Sal ignited, Erika only had one part, but it was more than enough for this.

    Her Hamr drank from her Odium Well, fuelling itself as she thought of the story, of a traveller dying to thirst on a little island, surrounded by nothing but the sea, and how she smiled and laughed and lived when it rained.

    The story told the mystery unfolds; Erika felt her Well dry by about half as she cast the 2<sup>nd</sup> circle spell (Restorative Draft).

    ¡°Ooooooooh, thank Sigurn for that. Felt like Thor was trying to break out from behind my eyeballs.¡± Muttered Erika slouching upwards in the way teenagers do and downing the glass of water she habitually kept there, even when she wasn''t drinking, she often woke up parched which was paying dividends today. After another few heartbeats the spell finished working through her and Erika stumbled off her bed and into the middle of her room.

    Stretching thoroughly as she did every morning Erika felt a suddenly melancholy wash over her as she looked at her cosy little room, wondering for a moment if today would be the last time she saw it, this expedition would be dangerous, more dangerous than anything she¡¯d ever done but she needed to didn¡¯t she, even if she might¡­ Shaking her head desperately and beginning to hum Erika grabbed that thought, tied it up and threw it off a cliff. She was a Vitki she would come back alive and she would make her mother proud.

    A few minutes of very light exercise and Erika felt fully woken up and strolled over to a fur hung doorway set into the wall leading to a small water closet with shiny brass equipment and running water in cold or hot. Erika went through her ablutions and cleaned herself thoroughly, nothing said unprofessional like smell after all, then selected a simple cloth tunic for the day, a moment later she took out a satchel she¡¯d bought a few years ago and filled it with enough clean clothes for a month and a bit, as long as she could wash them regularly at least, but the trip couldn¡¯t be that uncivilised, could it? Preparations practically complete already Erika bustled around grabbing the small dagger her mother gave her, her money pouch and a handful of books she might want. Taking one last look around her room Erika threw on her Vitki¡¯s mantle and slowly opened her door.

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    Creeping out into the hallway Erika saw that both of the other doors in their little basement level were open which meant her siblings must already be out and about. Scowling to herself she surged up the stairs, along the landing, up another set of stairs and into the ground floor of the house, through the main room, across the hall from the workshop and¡­

    ¡°Erika I made breakfast!¡±

    ¡­She was stopped by her elder brother Egil who was stood behind their roaring heart with a big beaming grin and had three plates of something steaming with a deliciously savoury scent. A few steps back from him was Erika¡¯s sister who had already grabbed and was in the middle of devouring her bowl of¡­ whatever it was, her raiment of chainmail and fur only half on, presumably she was either just coming back from one of her patrols, as one of the cities best rangers the Thing and the Jarl kept her busy.

    Erika thought for a moment, she did need to eat no matter how worried she was and her brother really was a fantastic cook. Putting on her best air of false confidence Erika swaggered in and sat down at the table taking one of the bowls and a knife from her brother and muttering a thank you.

    ¡°Sup prude.¡± Said her sister, Kara, still nose deep in her bowl.

    ¡°Sup whore.¡± Erika replied without missing a beat.

    Egil gave both women a long-suffering look then sat down and began to eat as well. It was a dish of lightly seasoned meatballs made from the meat of different game animals floating in a soup of herbs. Egil really was a fantastic cook Erika reflected as she dug in.

    ¡°Oh, we got a message from the temple of Hoenir yesterday,¡± Egil said between huge bites. ¡°Mom says she¡¯s coming home early, something about the wards and the army or something.¡±

    Kara looked pleased by that perking up from her normal morning stupor, Egil was smiling as well but for Erika, the news was like a dagger of ice into her heart. Not much time, need to go, won¡¯t get back, stupid, shouldn¡¯t, should. The thoughts ran around and around in her head pilling into each other until her forehead throbbed.

    Erika finished her meal in a daze, stacking her bowl next to the others by the cleaning rune in its alcove, then quietly slipped away towards the door. She didn¡¯t know how long she¡¯d wasted on breakfast she was supposed to meet at 6 branches right? She needed to¡­

    ¡°Hey Erika.¡±

    Erika squealed with shock and jumped into the air, turning as she did so like a frightened cat and landing to glare at¡­

    ¡°Hey hey it¡¯s just me.¡± Said Kara spreading her hands.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Erika turned her deep breath into a sigh and let her metaphorical hackles fall, she was far to wired this morning.

    ¡°Are you ok little? You barely touched your food and you never flinch like that.¡±

    Erika hadn''t been called ¡°little¡± in years, it was her sisters nickname for her back when she was the shortest in the house, it was¡­ nice being called it again.

    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry I''m fine, you know how it is¡­ I just had a nightmare, it left me on edge.¡±

    Kara stared at her for a long moment before nodding. ¡°Ok, I won¡¯t press.¡±

    As Kara wandered away Erika frowned Too damn sharp she thought (not for the first time), she knows somethings wrong, I need to go.

    Erika kicked open her door and took a deep breath of the early morning air. Birdsong and voices mixed, the smell of pollen and steam coal smoke and meat washed over her, a bitter wind washed across her chilling her bones as Erika strode off into the city.

 Chapter 4 - Hungover

    Walking down the stairs roughly hewn into the hill face of the inner city Erika headed down towards the meeting point, city of Leirhofn was built in the standard style of the Silver Kingdom, a huge central redoubt called the inner tier, then a city full of rich people called the gold tier, a middle city of craftsmen and artisans called the steel tier and an outer spread of wooden huts and laborers called the Fur tier, then there was a massive wall of stone and steel and finally the plains around the city which were divided into two rough sections, on one side near the river were the docks, the main gate and the Bal-Vagn platforms, on the other was trollheim the most outer city where the scum lived outside the walls.

    Erika was heading towards the acceptable bit of the outer city, which linked to the docks and warehouses along the river with the iron rails of the Bal-Vagn. Erika was far from the only one of course, it was the start of the morning shift with Sol just peaking from behind Yggdrasil¡¯s trunk, and hordes of workers, labourers, guards, hunters, mechanics, lumberjacks, tanners, dyers and a thousand other professions were pouring out of the outer city where they lived and into the industrial diaspora that spread around Leirhofn.

    Erika¡¯s mere presence parted the crowds like a shark in a shoal, her half and half raiment shining in the sea of fur and undyed cloth. Erika often used this respectful distance to avoid waiting in line and she did so today, manoeuvring towards a line of street food carts and causing everyone else stood near them to run away.

    After a moments deliberation Erika decided to get a skillet-cake, a slice of long thin fried batter coated in honey, from small red painted cart at the end of the line that she often bought snacks from. Her presence was a mark of prestige but she did scare away the other customers so she was used to prompt service and an empty bench nearby to eat at which is why she was so surprised when a person sat down next to her on the shadow dappled stone flashing a confident smile as they did so.

    ¡°Vitki Erika Yrsasdottir? It is an honour to finally meet you.¡±

    Erika stared at him? Her? She¡¯d never been any good at gendering the more extreme sagaborn, this one looked like a human¡¯s head on the body of an owl that had crashed at high speed into a wolf all crowned by a long white beard and fussy half-moon spectacles.

    ¡°Who in Hel are you?¡± Asked Erika, unlike yesterday this person wasn''t offering her two hundred silvers so she couldn¡¯t care less what they thought of her.

    ¡°Ah of course of course, this humble one is Geir a thrall of the most exalted Ironarm Clan champions of battle and the feasting hall both, perhaps you are familiar with my patrons?¡±

    Erika slurped her skillet-cake in in a way which she knew was annoying and simply stared at the man, a few moments of fidgeting later he continued with his smile undimmed.

    ¡°Clan Ironarm are champions of the silver kingdom and devoted servants of Magni, honourable fighters and champions as well as some of the greatest chefs in Midgard, in fact I believe the Jarl of this city is served by one such Ironarm chef.¡±

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    Erika nodded, dropped the cup back on the rickety stall along with a handful of quartz coins, then strolled away along the lane grinning slightly as she heard the sagaborn hurry after her.

    ¡°I have heard of you lot, did you go to war with clan Redmane a few months back?¡±

    Geir recoiled as if struck. ¡°Oh no not at all, not at all, the great clans are firm allies serving under the Grand-King together, at most there are occasional¡­ disagreements.¡±

    Erika took a flight of wide shallow steps down from the last row of shops taht formed the edge of the gold tier and into the smoky fog bank that ringed the Steel tier reinforced endlessly by the smoke from the taverns, hearths, forges and other smoky but not smelly industries.

    ¡°Your disagreement got thirty people killed.¡±

    Erika had to give Geir something, he was at least smart enough not to call a Vitki a liar. ¡°The disagreements can get somewhat¡­ heated at times that¡¯s true, but the heart of a true warrior should always run hot should it not? It was nothing truly serious, a few young bloods scrapping with each other under the watch of their personal guards nothing more¡­ But it was another matter I wished to discuss with you today, I understand congratulations are in order for your inevitable success in the upcoming Silvermane expedition?¡±

    Erika sighed and tried not to spit, less than a day and the Clans knew, she¡¯d expected her participation to leak of course but not that quickly.

    ¡°With the late unpleasantness with the Redman concluded as you so insightfully noticed,¡± Erika gave him, he talked like a him, credit for working her issue back into the conversation. ¡°Our great and ancient clan is finally in a position to pay proper respect to its peers, such as the Vitki of this fine city, we shall pray that the Aesir watch over you on your journey and would happily help prepare you with suitable provisions for your long and arduous journey.¡±

    Erika could od two things here, artfully and cunningly use words like a skald to draw out hidden meaning, barter and trade around her oath and walk away even richer¡­ or she could not.

    ¡°You want to bribe me then?¡±

    Geir really recoiled this time, his face screwed up like a cat. ¡°Oh no oh dear how¡­¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap,¡± snarled Erika interrupting his impassioned defence. ¡°You want to know what Silvermane is up to right?¡±

    Geir¡¯s eyes darted left and right probing the shadows but Erika cut him off again. ¡°The answers no.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± For the first time in this conversation Erika felt she was seeing the real person before her, Geir¡¯s smile had vanished replaced with a look of pure condescension.

    ¡°No as in not happening, I¡¯m not going to spy for you.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any idea of the power my house wields? Of the wealth we have? Refusing us is¡­¡±

    Erika turned and fixed him with a gimlet glare jabbing a finger into his chest to interrupt his pointless whining. ¡°Cut the crap my house? you¡¯re a thrall! You aren¡¯t part of any clan, your glorified property, I''m damned if I''m going to be talked back to by a table with pretensions.¡±

    ¡°How dare you! I am a loyal¡­¡±

    Erika would have liked to shut him up with some cool magick trick a crushing aura or hazy static in the air but despite what skalds tell you only the masters can do that stuff, instead she chose violence.

    A leather gloved fist took him in the lung and as his head snapped down a knee was already coming up to meet it.

    ¡°Shut it! I''m a Vitki, not a merchant mercenary or spy, be gone!¡±

    With a final shove Erika sent to idiot stumbling back into a nearby alley where he landed in a refuse pile, glaring him down for a moment Erika pointedly turned away and walked off. A street later Erika let out a loud sigh, even more morose now than when she¡¯d woken up hungover, she hated politics, so damn much.

    ¡°Vitki Erika Yrsasdottir? It is an honour to finally meet you.¡±

    ¡°FOR SIGURN¡¯S SAKE.¡±

 Chapter 5 - Part 1

    A few minutes later Erika was sitting underneath a cart.

    It seemed even second botherer was one of the fastest of the pack, a few moments after driving him off a veritable swarm of annoyances had flocked to her. A tidal wave of thralls and third sons each and every one begging her to sell her honour to one of the clans in exchange for a handful of gems and hacksilver.

    After shouting at a few and trying to shove through the rest Erika had run off into a side road and changed her skin. It was risky doing it there but Erika couldn¡¯t deal with any more crowds.

    She¡¯d not really slowed down until she found the conveniently parked wagon outside of a tannery near the edge of the fur tier which had a good view of the temple of Magni, a huge squat building that grew like a mushroom from a stump out of the bottom of the inner face of the cities curtain wall.

    Erika trotted through the surprisingly wide streets of the fur tier, she¡¯d once heard it was a mandate from the jarl so his huscarls could move to the wall easier, she snaked around a few small crowds, a huge stagnant puddle, the runoff of a slaughterhouse and finally a row of slum housing before bursting out into the fresh air again.

    Near the wall was kept officially clear, which meant only temporary stalls or those willing to pay massive bribes were allowed to set up there. The vast temples of the Aesir occupied most of the cleared ground acting as part community hall part barracks. Usually, it would be seeing a brisk trade but nothing more, most of the Gothi on call out to do rune work around the city and the rest ministering to anyone who needed it. But this wasn''t usual, instead in the space around the temple were two great crowds, a central one near the stairs filled with armed and armoured figures, then a thin line of huscarls and beyond them a seething wave of people, so many they obscured the ground itself, each and every one of them clamouring to get in and bellow of their own importance to anyone within earshot.

    Erika sighed and trotted forwards, weaving between legs and occasionally biting someone in the ankle, she made her way through the press and past one of the huscarls, apparently the jarl himself was helping maintain order in all this mess.

    Moving through what had to be delvers and Silvermane employees Erika spotted Sigurn arguing with some weak chinned spare son of one of the Clans.  Luckily for Erika the press helped with this next bit, reaching into her own mind she grabbed a bit of herself and jerked it. Nobody was looking down at the ground in this mess so to the people nearby it looked like a Vitki had just stood up out of nowhere well inside the barrier of soldiers.

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    Delvers were less deferential so Erika had to elbow her way over to Sigurn who had driven her target back to the edge of the square of people. As Erika got closer, she made out a handful of words.

    ¡°¡­keeping us from talking to¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­every right¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Will hear of this!¡±

    That last seemed to be the end of Sigurn¡¯s patience as she lifted the feckless youth over her head with one hand on his throat before hurling him over the heads of the huscarls and out of sight. Taking a deep breath Sigurn sighed and seemed to slump, Erika wasn''t sure if it was exhaustion or just no longer puffing herself up.

    Drawing on her Odium Well again Erika pushed the exhaustion away and tapped Sigurn gently on the shoulder.

    [Restorative Draft]

    Sigurn jumped as the light of magick flowed across her, for a moment Erika realised she might have made a mistake and might be about to be mauled by a sagaborn bear but a heartbeat later her hackles seemed to settle and she turned and smiled at Erika, the Vitki couldn¡¯t tell if it was fake or not.

    ¡°By Baldr! Erika?¡­ I thought I¡¯d have to come drag you in through the mob, how did you get in?¡±

    Erik just pointed at her own mantle in silence and Sigurn seemed to take the hint, Vitki did as Vitki would. For a moment Sigurn looked at her with a critical eye then it passed like a loud over the sun and the sagaborn was all smiles again.

    ¡°Thanks for the spell kid, pretty nice of you.¡±

    ¡°I''m just trying to win my new bosses¡¯ favour.¡± Said Erika bluntly drawing a deep genuine laugh from Sigurn. ¡°That¡¯ll do you good kid, glad to see you got here on time, lots of stuff to get ready. You didn¡¯t run into too much trouble with this lot, did you?¡± With a dismissive gesture Sigurn indicated the entire heaving mass before them.

    Erika laughed. ¡°A little, I scared one off but more turned up, like flies on a carcass.¡±

    Samar laughed and clapped a hand on Erika shoulder, artfully turning the gesture into a faint tug to draw her along and deeper into the crowd.

    ¡°Yeah, the Great Clans are like that, they want in on the expedition¡­ well not really, they want in on what we find, not that they think we¡¯ll find anything but they want in on the off chance.¡±

    Erika nodded slowly as a thought occurred to her. ¡°Uh¡­ you guys put out flyers, right? Why didn¡¯t any just join up.¡±

    Sigurn barked a bearlike laugh. ¡°Clever Vitki clever but simply answered, first they think we¡¯ll all die so there isn''t any point joining and second, me.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Erika knew Sigurn as a folk hero sure but the Great Clans had gold ranks working for them or even marrying into them, Sigurn was strong but she couldn¡¯t be that strong right?

    Sigurn shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it kid, just know I¡¯ve got your back.¡±

    Erika shrugged and moved on, she really hated politics and frankly wasn''t interested in an explanation and they seemed to have arrived at their destination, there stood in the eye of the storm of delvers was Alvis carrying a stack of writing slates and waiting on by two apprentices. Sigurn walked up to him and whispered in his ear. A few moments later Sigurn came back still smiling and lead Erika into a space in the crowd before vanishing. A few heartbeats later she heard more than saw the huscarls move and force the clan thralls aside and found herself swept up in the motion as the crowd of delvers lurched forwards and away.

 Chapter 6 - Part 2

    ¡°Ten! Ten aurar of silver! You stand there and you tell me, to my face, that you think these mangy old beasts are worth that much? I¡¯ve seen livelier droogs dead by the side of the road, their coats are dry, their fangs are dull, one of them is missing a leg and you dare ask me for ten?!¡±

    Erika eyed the prospective mounts warily as Alvis haggled. A few minutes earlier the crowd had poured down the streets of the fur tier and into a walkway that led to one of the curtain walls vast sealed sally ports, this one however was open, the huge iron bars rolled back and the usually empty space filled with people. The delvers had split up, obviously for most of them this wasn¡¯t their first expedition, and spread themselves out through the mass of labourers and merchants that competed to stock and supply the expedition in the last possible moments.

    Erika meanwhile had been somewhat abandoned, she stood lost in the middle of the huge room contenting herself with looking at caravan and its beasts. The droogs scared her a bit, each of the boar like creatures was as tall as her at the shoulder and their tusks were anything but cute, but the caravans were lovely. They were like little moving houses, they had a bed of iron that bound in eight huge wooden wagon wheels, four on each side and a long chain harness for a droog at the front, after that was different for each one but they generally had dark wood walls, a bulbous grey slate roof that overhang the wheels, thick sea-glass windows and even heating runes carved directly into their frames. Erika wandered through the press in a daze, actually seeing the caravans was making this all seem more real, she was leaving her home town to rush off on a very possibly fatal expedition to the middle of a mythical blizzard that people said ate souls.

    Erika was not happy.

    ¡°Hey there cutie, are you supposed to be here?¡±

    On the other hand, this seemed fun.

    There was a woman stood in the shadow of one of the caravans that Erika hadn''t noticed till now, she was obviously a delver since she was wearing half a forge in chainmail and plate, half a bear as a cloak and half a tree as a club. What really set her apart though was that she was another sagaborn, Erika thought they were rarer than that. The woman was nearly as tall as a droog, with fiery red hair braided down her back, golden torcs wrapped around her bare muscular arms and deep soulful brown eyes, she also had webbed talons for feet, short rams¡¯ horns at her temple and a long reptilian tail lashing behind her, Erika couldn¡¯t even make a guess at which saga had shaped her, maybe it was more than one? She¡¯d never heard any skald talk about the horned lizard bird creature.

    ¡°Did Odin steal your words?¡±

    Erika realised she was staring and rallied herself, she should probably go track down Sigrun and ask about what the Hel she should be doing... But being flirted with by a beautiful woman was never a waste of time, besides she was a vitki it¡¯s not like she was supposed to be doing manual labour, they¡¯d come get her if they needed spells cast right?

    With her decision sufficiently justified to herself Erika let the woman¡¯s inviting smile draw her over. ¡°If he did, he¡¯s given them back. Who are you?¡±

    The woman smiled and half bowed. ¡°I am Helga Hjorth, blessed to meet a beauty like you, but seriously you shouldn¡¯t be in here little one.¡±

    Erika blushed a bit and grinned, it¡¯s not like she didn¡¯t enjoy the respect but some people forgot vitki were people and not just magick weapons and nobody ever fussed over her apart from her mother, she didn¡¯t hate it.

    ¡°I¡¯m Erika Yrsasdottir, pleasure to meet you and I am supposed to be here.¡±

    Helga seemed to stall for a moment then, in a voice of far-off horror, she asked. ¡°Erika¡­ the vitki?¡±

    Erika raised an eyebrow in surprise and nodded. ¡°Well, yes¡­ I''m wearing my mantle, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Helga groaned and covered her face with her hands. ¡°I''m¡­ I''m also on the expedition, I''m Sigrun¡¯s cousin¡­ I''m¡­ I''m supposed to be waiting for you since I¡¯ll be your driver¡­ oh gods I flirted with an employee.¡±

    Erika looked nonplussed for a moment then a flash of inspiration struck her. ¡°You¡¯re from the eastern territories?¡±

    Helga raised both eyebrows and nodded. ¡°Uh yeah¡­ did a spell tell you that?¡±

    Erika giggled. ¡°No, it¡¯s just only the eastern vitki have different totems, they use masks, right?¡±

    ¡°Uh yeah, I was looking for a woman with a bird mask¡­ that must be why I missed you.¡±

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    Helga seemed to rally herself and turning around pointed at the caravan she¡¯d been leaning on. ¡°Uh I''m supposed to help you get settled, this is your caravan, vitki get their own one and we¡¯ll use it to store anything magickal we discover.¡±

    Erika looked up at the caravan and found herself impressed, it was a beautiful lime green one covered in insulating laminate scales like some great lizard, the droogs were both black with spiky fur and she gave them an unhappy look, the beast snorted and stamped a its feet.

    Erika suddenly found herself standing a few metres away from the beast heart still pounding.

    ¡°Never been near a droog before?¡±

    This time it was Sigrun, she¡¯d crept up behind Erika on¡­ Erika actually looked down and nearly gasped, crept up on somehow steel-clad feet, how in Hel¡¯s name did she do that?

    ¡°No¡­ they¡¯re¡­ larger than I thought they would be.¡±

    Sigrun nodded, ¡°Most people say that, seeing them on your plate for a lifetime makes you think they¡¯ll be little tasty buggers, right?¡± As Helga talked, she walked over to the droog and hooked her finger through its nose ring then lead it away with a professional air. ¡°Part of the reason I gave you my cousin as your driver, though you wouldn¡¯t be sure of them.¡±

    Erika raised her eyebrows in genuinely surprised. ¡°Helga¡¯s your cousin?¡±

    Sigrun nodded with that permanent smile she seemed to have. ¡°Yup, lovely girl, wanted to strike it big as a delver so I invited her along.¡± As she spoke Sigrun wandered off and came back with a small sleek droog on the end of a long reign. ¡°You should get on this one, later on you¡¯ll just be in the caravan but you should learn how to ride when there isn''t any trouble, I¡¯ll hitch this one to the back of your caravan.¡±

    Erika tried to say no but Sigrun was already shoving her forwards, Erika wrung her hands for a moment then willed herself forwards, grasping the stirrup of the droog¡¯s saddle in white knuckled hands Erika hauled herself desperately up onto the side of the droog (which stood utterly still with an air of resigned boredom), hanging across its coarse hide she looked around wildly for another hand hold.

    ¡°Here,¡± half turning she saw Sigrun raising her cupped hands towards her. ¡°Give me your foot then when you¡¯re on the top twist your hands into the reigns quickly.¡± Erika did as she said quickly slinging her foot over and onto the delvers hands then pushing herself upwards and into the saddle where she scrambled for the reigns like her life depended on it as the half-asleep droog daydreamed about wild parcel and potatoes. Finally grabbing the reigns Erika started pulling them when Sigrun grabbed her boot. ¡°Don¡¯t pull the reigns,¡± she said calmly but quickly. ¡°Not unless we tell you to, these are caravan droog¡¯s they¡¯re trained to run together.¡±

    Erika nodded shakily then heaved a ragged sigh. ¡°Thank you for all your help, Sigrun.¡±

    Sigrun waved away the compliment with her trademark grin. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about it I''m sure you¡¯d have been fine without my help.¡± As she spoke, she reached down and picked up a heavy pack from the ground which she passed up to Erika with a flourish. Erika took it and peaked inside, she could make out dried jerky and some bread that looked a lot like a pile of rocks.

    ¡°Provisions all preprepared and paid for by the good folks of the Silvermane syndicate,¡± Sigrun explained. ¡°Food, rope, an axe, a sharpening stone all that stuff, I¡¯d give you a sword but you don¡¯t need it right?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Said Erika trying to balance the pack of provisions against her personal backpack and swaying wildly as she did so.

    ¡°Great¡­ the haggling will probably stop in a minute so get ready.¡± With that the ever-smiling woman wandered off back into the mass of mounted expeditionaries, probably looking for someone else to help.

    Erika slung the provisions pack onto a likely looking piece of saddle and wrapped as tightly as she could, finishing the last knot Erika turned to look back at her city¡­. And stared right into Helga¡¯s eyes. She¡¯d totally forgotten that she was stood right next to her caravan, seated on the droog she was nearly level with Helga who hung in the box with a looking rather more comfortable than Erika did.

    After a moment of eye contact Helga waved at her. ¡°Hi again.¡±

    Erika froze for a moment then lamely waved back. ¡°Uh¡­ hi.¡±

    For a moment the two women looked at each other then as one they burst out laughing, the strange hilarity lasted for a good few heartbeats before it faded away. Erika desperately wanted to say more but she had nothing to say, as she wracked her brain for a topic, she fell into an uneasy silence alongside Helga. Erika let herself imagine for a moment that Helga was thinking the same thing as her then dismissed the thought outright, she was never that lucky.

    Before Erika could invent a topic of conversation or embarrass herself further an abrupt silence told her that a price had finally been negotiated, craning her neck she saw one of the gaggle of droog vendors shaking hands with an incredibly smug looking Alvis as the latter handed over nine aurar.

    ¡°Was that really worth all the shouting?¡± Called out a tall human woman sat on one of the lead caravans, voicing what most of the expedition was secretly thinking.

    ¡°It about the principle of the thing.¡± Replied Alvis slinging himself up expertly onto his fine white droog, it was obviously his own personal mount, the saddle and tack were covered in runes and its tusks were twice the size of the rests.

    ¡°Time to get a move on, we¡¯ve wasted enough daylight as it is.¡± With a baleful glare Alvis flicked the reigns of his mount which took off at speed, as it did every other droog in the hold began to plod forwards draw into his wake.  People shouted and hurried, merchants pleaded for sales, friend¡¯s ad family shouted goodbye from the doorway and a few delvers shouted for their caravans to slow down as they ran along after them.

    Clinging onto her mouth desperately Erika pulled back on the reigns hoping to slow it down, it ignored her entirely and kept moving forwards juddering and thundering and very nearly braining her on a low hanging support.

    ¡°Alright ladies and gents,¡± Sigrun yelled from very front of the pack. ¡°Who wants to get rich?¡±

    Cheering echoed back through the sallyport as the gates swung shut.

 Chapter 7 - The First Interlude

    Queen Vigdis the Valiant of Leirhofn was many things, a true shieldmaiden who had taken her 7<sup>th</sup> step in the divine style of Baldr, a consummate politician and great dancer, one of the nine Queens and Kings of the Silver Kingdom, the largest kingdom in the world. But above all else she was bored, totally bored, completely bored, bored stiff, bored limp again, bored into a small circle and pushed down a hole.

    ¡°¡­But of course, if the Queen had been there, we would have slain even greater game!¡± Said one of the toadies that surrounded her. He was a member of the jarl caste, some jewellers son or bankers brother that she hadn''t been listening to, so instead she simply huffed under her breath in a way that could be taken as either a humble denial or an amused acknowledgement without really committing to either. As the bootlicker sidled away looking happy as can be, a second round of jarls closed in on her like a pack of hunting scythers.

    ¡°Hail the Valiant Queen, we all wished to hear more about your adventures down the coast, they are so intriguing!¡±

    Vigdis muttered a few diplomatic lies making the woman before her swoon, despite the total lack of detail or fire in her saga. Vigdis had to clench her stomach to prevent herself from throwing up¡­ ok that¡¯s an exaggeration but come on this lot are awful! She was surrounded like an elk run down by a wolf pack but this one in all blue, blue shirts and skirts and hides and everything (the High Queen had worn a blue outfit a few weeks ago and now EVERYONE needed everything in blue, did nobody realise how difficult it was to get blue dye here by rail?!).

    Stewing in her hatred of fashion the Queen jerked her head up as something whispered in her ear.

    ¡°Queen Valiant.¡±

    Oh thank the Aesir and the Vanir both, he was finally here.

    Vigdis expertly deflected a few of the vapider jarls flocking around her then sidled across to a large potted plant that sat very near the dancing hall¡¯s door, even looking at it this close Vigdis couldn¡¯t make out the Crownguard who was hiding¡­ in it? Behind it? She¡¯d never figured out how they did it.

    ¡°Yes?¡± She spoke without moving her lips holding a tankard in front of her face and miming sipping so realistically even a close observer couldn¡¯t recognise the ploy. She hated having to do this but hating something didn¡¯t stop you experiencing it and skill came from experience. And by Baldr did she have a lot of experience with these poisons¡¯ money grubbing¡­

    ¡°The councillors are assembled.¡± The shrub said before it shivered minutely the Crownguard presumably having left, or maybe he was just shrugging? It was so hard to tell with those guys.

    Message received Queen Vigdis steeled herself for this most dangerous step, crossing the hall without getting mobbed. First was the joking and the hand shaking, then a bit of double speak with a few bankers, duck out of the way of a Vracian ambassador who was hunting her down with an intent expression, stand in the shadow of the Jotunheim representative who was an absolutely treasure even if they had been forced to remove an entire wall from her hall just to let her inside. Dancing a few steps forwards and smiling like a Sol above the Queen got into position by the heavy oak door.

    With a dazzling farewell and a promise to return soon with more mead Vigdis escaped to a round of applause, behind her the door slammed close and locked with a faint click.

    Vigdis sagged against a wall for a moment as one a gaggle of huscarls and hirdmen finished barring the door behind her, the crownsguard had gone to wherever they went when you didn¡¯t keep an eye on them but Vigdis¡¯ own Huscarls fell into step with her as she stormed along the empty pathway away from the mead hall and towards a longhouse that clung anonymously to the hall of her ring fortress.

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    The Queen slipped inside her personal office and right into an argument. Stood before her were two men and two women, her advisors and Councillors, each of them masters of an art or craft she needed each of them politically and monetarily powerful and each of them just as confused as she was.

    ¡°I hear we got the signal?¡±

    Jul was the first to respond, a clearly fake name that the ex-assassin had apparently chosen for no good reason. ¡°Less than ten minutes ago my Queen, the Silvermane expedition set out with full fanfare and after making the proper sacrifices, my agents couldn¡¯t find anything unusual.¡±

    ¡°Like I said! It IS just an expedition!¡± Bellowed Grand Gothi Andor Andorson of the temple of Vidar the Seeking God. ¡°I don¡¯t see why we¡¯ve kept going back and forth on this, the High Queen wants a trump card ready in case the damn Vracians declare war again so why not go look for one?¡±

    ¡°Why? Because it¡¯s ludicrous, the Fimbulwinter isn''t safe with an army of Jotun at your back let alone humans, they must be planning to break along there route and head west, perhaps towards the kingdom of Svarith? Or the Empire of Empty Scales?¡± And that was Clan Keeper Haldor, a decent sort if a bit high strung.

    ¡°Fools all of you!¡± Said the court cunning woman, the vitki Hulda. ¡°With the right reagents I could have tracked their convoy and we wouldn¡¯t need this argument, just a few diamonds¡­¡±

    ¡°You say that every single time. We. Don¡¯t. Have. The. Budget!¡± And now Haldor had dented the Jarls perfectly good table, highly strung indeed.

    ¡°Pennypincher.¡±

    ¡°Witch!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re both wrong, their supplies tallied up correctly so it must only be bending the truth not breaking it, perhaps they are targeting one of the more well-known sites near the edge of the hungry storm? There are rumours that a few Ragnar?k era armouries still stand there.¡± Jul was earnest as always but wrong.

    ¡°Those rumours are older than our city spymistress, all the edge sites have been discovered and ransacked centuries ago. I don¡¯t see why nobody else just accepts this at face value, Silvermane profits from our survival as the largest kingdom in Midgard and she¡¯s got a fascination with the relics of the dead gods.¡± Andor raised a good point.

    ¡°And how do you think she found it them? None of the vitki she has contact with are even in the seventh circle, if this temple is what she claims it is then it was built just after the floods receded and Yggdrasil began to regrow, they had tenth circle vitki back then, the wards one of them could make would never fall.¡± Jul said snidely

    ¡°I still think it¡¯s an attempt to move currency across the border, perhaps disguised as food? Is she trying to destroy our economy!¡± Haldor was getting more and more worked up.

    Jul shot Vigdis a comforting look as the Queen forced apart the bickering crowd and collapsed onto her whalebone chair that sat proudly behind her beautiful mahogany desk. She was really beginning to loathe it, not the desk of course no¡­ it was what was on the desk that cause her frequent headaches.

    Vigdis glared at the damn map hard enough to make it wilt¡­ or maybe that was it being poorly rolled. She¡¯d known all those years ago that one day she¡¯d regret taking the position of Jarl, but the perks had seemed so good and High Queen had asked her personally, but she already started notice grey hairs a good century before she should. It was all her domain¡¯s fault she was sure, the other queens and kings of the Silver Kingdom ruled domains that were ancient and rich and very well defended. Vigdis ruled over the newest domain of them all, Baiser, the kingdoms breadbasket taken less than a century ago and filled with farmers and not much else. A big juicy target for everyone beyond their borders.

    ¡°Please tell me the others aren¡¯t moving?¡± Vigdis asked the group with an almost plaintive tone.

    ¡°The Kings and Queens? Not at the moment but that could change¡­ The two in the north are still feuding and the one we met before, you know her? Well, she¡¯s marrying into one of the great clans and that¡¯s caused all kinds of Hel. The raiders are still keeping most of the army busy and the High-Queen is doing¡­ well whatever she does and the rest don¡¯t seem interested.¡±

    Vigdis didn¡¯t smile but she relaxed fractionally, probably no political backstabbing for a while thank the gods for small mercies.

    ¡°So, what should we do my Queen?¡±

    And that was the rub, wasn''t it? This was her job, she had nobody else to turn too, her friends could advise her but in the end the decision was hers and hers alone.

    After a long moment Queen Vigdis shrugged. ¡°We leave it, if it fails it will teach the High-Queen to call an Althing before organising something like this and if it doesn¡¯t, we get a way to kick in Vracians teeth.¡±

    Her advisors had nothing more to say as Queen Vigdis dutifully melted a lump of wax and pressed her seal ring into it affixing it to the damn map and finally ending the conversation.

    ¡°Right onto our next issue¡­ the gradual depreciation of the southern corn fields and the possible effects this might have on our food supply¡­.¡±

 Chapter 8 - First Night

    It turns out expedition-ing is surprisingly boring, Erika had expected¡­ more but for the last three days they¡¯d done nothing but move in a slow line past the farmsteads of Karl¡¯s, the land owners, and the barracks of thralls, in the distance you could see the vast dark forests but here near the city? Nothing but windswept grassy plains.

    In the end Erika had gotten bored, to start with she¡¯d explored her caravan but that had barely held her attention, it was barely the size of a normal houses room and included a bed and a chest, that was it, apart from the front and back doors and the heating rune. Everything else you were expected to deal with outside, Erika ate with the others, wiped a whet rag over herself when she could and ¡°visited¡± the woods when she needed to, Erika hated that especially and had never been quite so glad for the air of fear and respect vitki carried.

    Unfortunately, that same aura stopped her from engaging in the shouted back and forth of the rest of the caravan, the mercenaries, delvers, soldiers and labourers all called back and forth to each other filling the air with vulgarity and keeping themselves entertained. Erika had instead sat in her caravan, then on the bench next to Helga until she got self-conscious then back in her caravan and the bench again and back and forth.

    In the end however Erika had found the only member of the expedition that didn¡¯t seem intimidate by her, excluding the two silver ranks of course but they intimidated her.

    Bjorn Bear-strangler as he insisted on introducing himself was a massive mountain of a man clearly possessing some jotun blood back in his line, he was a good eight feet tall with hands as large as saucepans and a bear¡¯s pelt worn as a cloak. He looked like a bandit king but he couldn¡¯t act more differently. A kind, energetic and bright soul with a love of socialising he¡¯d taken Erika on as a sort of pet project, after befriending her by bothering her until she gave in he¡¯d started dragging her from group to group breaking the ice and starting conversations and eventually getting Erika to join the expeditions Wagon Rush tournament.

    ¡°Ha past the Vanaheim and into the Bloom!¡±

    ¡°Better than being stuck in the fog sea, nearly lost my last piece to the Gap.¡±

    Erika looked down at the game board, Wagon Rush was incredibly popular, each of the players controlled a Bael-Vagn company and tried to bankrupt each with a map of Yggdrasil as the game board and lots of little rail pieces, but Erika had never been very good at playing it.

    ¡°Ok so I¡­ roll the dice¡­. And then¡­. Oh I landed on the rainbow tile, that¡¯s one of the Realmgates right?¡±

    There was silence, then the entire table exploded with laughter, across from the vitki sat Solvor Sigsdottir who was staring open mouthed as Bjorn leaned past Erika¡¯s shoulder and gently moved a tiny Bael-Vagn piece all the way to end of the oval board.

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    ¡°You win Erika! You got the silver you needed and opened up a new trade route to an untouched realm that puts you over the win condition!¡±

    Solvor shrugged good naturedly overcoming her surprise. ¡°Well done Erika that¡¯s¡­ what¡­ seventeen for me and two for you?¡±

    Erika glared for a long moment before Solvor stony expression faded and she flashed a smile of silvery teeth. ¡°Sorry sorry, but you aren¡¯t actually doing that badly I know it seems you are but I¡¯ve spent decades getting good at this game, for a total beginning you¡¯re doing great.¡±

    Somewhat mollified Erika nodded as the tables other two occupants began resetting the board, to Erika¡¯s left sat a short human man with white hair and bandy legs who¡¯d introduced himself as Skard Varsson one of a pair of twin delvers who¡¯d seemed put out nobody recognised them.

    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you got all of Vanaheim in your first tourney.¡±

    On her right was someone Erika quite liked, a Gothi of Baldr called Katlin who was an alf! They were very rare outside Alfheim and Erika had been caught staring once or twice, she was an ethereally beauty with golden skin, ash white hair like Erika¡¯s own and eyes that had no pupil, just solid green orbs. The eye thing was a bit freaky but once you got past that she was excellent company, unlike the stories Katlin wasn¡¯t snooty and graceful she was high strung and extremely paranoid which Erika found oddly calming, maybe it was just nice to see someone else panicking for once.

    ¡°She¡¯s very lucky¡­ or using spells¡­ or using luck spells¡­ you aren¡¯t using luck spells right?!¡±

    The expedition had started out in a thin formation but as the days wore on the droogs had huddled closer and closer together until friends could talk face to face, people near the rear were singing a deep rich travel song, the air swam with the smell of roasting meet as one of the food wagons prepared a roast of some kind.

    As the groups sang or played the day away Sol moved across the sky arcing between the limbs of the world tree until ever so slowly, she vanished from sight. Branchnight fell across the scrubby plains and within moments the line of wagons came to a halt

    Erika dropped her tokens and yawned as Katlin and Skarn jumped out of the wagon, most of the delvers alternated between sitting in the wagons and walking alongside but everyone circled up for Branchnight, within minutes a bonfire was roaring and the rangers were sent out to hunt down dinner.

    Erika strolled across the impromptu camp, which really just consisted of circling the wagons and stretching a few ropes and sheets between them, back towards her own pretty green caravan. She hadn''t been avoiding it per say its just¡­ it was awkward talking to Helga who was so pretty and experienced and...

    Erika shook herself roughly and yelped as some grabbed her just as roughly. ¡°Ah Erika nice to see you again.¡± Said Sigurn.

    Erika flinched internally and externally. ¡°Ah Sigurn¡­ look the droog wasn''t working out, ok? It was terrifying and¡­¡±

    Sigurn laughed and handed Erika a flask. ¡°That¡¯s fine vitki, didn¡¯t except you to take to it, how you been holding up.¡±

    Erika thought for a moment, apart from the constant fear of her lie being found out, the back pain from the droog and the boredom from the unchanging scenery¡­ ¡°Not bad.¡± She said with surprising honesty. ¡°It¡­ feels like a real adventure you know.¡±

    ¡°I do I really do, that feeling never goes away.¡± Sigurn said smilingly gently all the while, a moment later she chucked a waterskin at Erika who caught it reflexively. ¡°Make sure to drink vitki, ridings harder work than city folk think.¡±

    Turning back to the main body of the camp Sigurn cupped her hands around her mouth. ¡°Grubs up in half a glass, after that¡­¡± Sigurn leered at the delvers some of whom went white. ¡°We¡¯ve got some light entertainment planned.¡±

 Chapter 9 - Party Hardly

    ¡°Ha, did you see the face of their boss boy? Stupid bandits think they own the world¡­ This is why I always tell you to keep your shovel handy boy!¡±

    -Alvard Alvardsson, Bal-Vagn coal stoker to his apprentice after helping thwart an ambush.

    ¡°Back! Back! Down! Side! Down!¡±

    Skard tried to follow Sigurn¡¯s shouted instructions but he couldn¡¯t match her speed, metal crashed on metal as weapons locked then with a flick of her axes beard Sigurn swept away Skards spear and slammed him back down onto the ground, levelling her axe to his throat, Skard wheezed like a deflating bellows, nearly regurgitated his dinner, and slumped down waving a hand in surrender.

    Laughter and jeering echoed around the camp as Sigurn gave an exaggerated bow to the audience, people had stopped betting against her after her eighth win, a moment later Sigurn hauled Skald up from the ground and nodded to him.

    ¡°Not too bad,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°Quite predictable though, try sprinkling in a chop or two with your spear next time, it won¡¯t really hurt but it can throw your enemy off, most people think spear are only for stabbing.¡±

    With that Sigurn slapped the man on his back hard enough to send him tumbling right into his twin¡¯s lap, there was more laughter which quickly turned into boozy cheers when Skard raised his fist in faux-victory still face down in his brother¡¯s lap. More mead was passed out by a pair of bustling Silvermane chefs as another challenger was shoved into the rough ring with Sigurn.

    During all this Erika had been sat on the side of the impromptu arena (really just a large circle scratched into the ground) alongside the only others who had been spared Sigurn¡¯s ¡°entertainment¡±. One was a short dirty looking old man called Tathra who was apparently a locksmith and trap expert, another was Solvor who Sigurn had declared a ¡°known quantity¡± whatever that means, and the third?...

    ¡°What are you looking at primitive?¡±

    ¡­The third was willowy human woman with red hair and burned black fingers called Ammeris, an alchemist!

    ¡°An idiot who thinks mixing gunk will do anything!¡±

    Ammeris dropped her pot and rounded to glare at Erika fully who was already glaring back, Solvor and Tathra both sighed the former hiding her face in her palm. Everyone knew about the whole alchemist/vitki rivalry but neither of them had thought it would be this bad.

    ¡°Godless heathen!¡±

    ¡°Lackwit degenerate!¡±

    ¡°I''m the one who can actually use magick here! You¡¯re the one lacking something!¡±

    ¡°I need no magick! I understand my treasures, you know nothing of the sacred mathematics and the holy geometry that¡­¡±

    ¡°No I don¡¯t because I don¡¯t need to, I have magick!¡±

    Luckily for her Erika was also spared any sparring, Sigurn hadn''t wanted her to overdraw on her well. The odium well of a vitki did refresh itself naturally over time as the sal of the vitki drew in odium from the world tree and the realms, purifying and storing it in the blood, but it only did it over time, nothing in the nine realms had ever been found that could accelerate that apart from sleeping and eating well and even those just sped it up a tiny bit, so if they needed Erika to cast three healing spells and she only had the odium for two? Tough luck.

    ¡°Please please ladies there is no need for this, your beauty will be spoiled, too terrible a fate to think of, no?¡± Solvor smacked Tathra around the head as Erika and Ammeris stared at him, it didn¡¯t stop him though instead he beamed at both women and raised a gallant hand.

    ¡°Surely you both see that the gods put us together here, yes? That we are destined to be together, yes?¡±

    As if the damn alchemist wasn''t bad enough Tathra flirted with anything in a skirt and Solvor? She hadn''t been so bad at first but as time went on the cracks started showing.

    ¡°Please leave our collages alone Tathra, they are not intestined in a romantic relationship at the component, I am sure.¡±

    Erika, and the other two in fact, spend a few seconds decoding what Solvor had said before Ammeris nodded. ¡°We are on a mission Tathra.¡±

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    ¡°Ah and what a mission it is!¡± Exploded Tathra entirely undaunted. ¡°A gallant dash across the width of the realm, under Yggdrasil¡¯s branches we fight together, armies and beasts laid to waste before us¡­ romantic, no?¡±

    Erika sighed explosively and shared a, somewhat, consolatory glance with Ammeris although neither woman would admit it. Behind them the spar finished up leaving Sigurn undefeated and her opponent lodged in the side of a caravan.

    ¡°Looks like its calming down.¡± Said Ammeris idly.

    ¡°Hopefully.¡± Muttered Erika, she wasn''t overly impressed with the way every branchnight turned into a party, the normal nights were bad enough with Erika lying in her cold foreign caravan bed unable to sleep tossing and turning wracked with doubt and guilt, what did her mother think? Had she gotten home yet? Had she seen the letter?

    Erika shook herself and diverted her train of thought down another track, apart from the alchemist it wasn''t all bad, the mead stocks were dropping rapidly but she thought she understood, it was all about morale, right? Keeping people happy at the start so they stuck around when the going got tough? Erika was still nursing her first mug whilst a few of the veterans had swallowed down four or five in as many heartbeats and were now happily snoring away underneath the wagons.

    ¡°Right well if everyone¡¯s well fed and properly exercised?¡± Samar quipped to tired amusement and a few last cheers. ¡°Then we¡¯ll seal the kegs up again, everyone remembers their watch? Turn up for that but otherwise do whatever, just don¡¯t wake anyone up.¡±

    There were some tired grunts as people began to haul themselves towards their caravans, and a few of the louder groups huddled closer to the bonfire. Tiring of the company and the party both Erika stood up. ¡°Should probably get some rest.¡± She said to the others, they muttered a few platitudes to her and she wandered off into the rough camp. Along the way she saw a few more groups heading the same direction¡­ and a handful of couples (or more) heading out into the darkness, Erika blushed when she saw them and definitely didn¡¯t run away clambering up the back step of her green caravan and pulling the door closed behind her.

    Inside was her narrow bed with the thin sheet and thinner mattress, her runed lantern, both of her bags thrown haphazardly into the corner¡­ and that was it, even as small as the caravan was it seemed to yawn with emptiness as she looked around.

    Erika sat down on her bed and curled into a ball she tried her best to remain professional out there, but yesterday she¡¯d realised she couldn¡¯t see her home anymore, it had hurt her deep in her heart. Here she was, in the dangerous wilderness heading into the Fimbulwinter itself all on false pretenses running from a mistake and this was the FIRST time she¡¯d ever left her home town, the very first!

    Tears glittered in the distant firelight that shone around the cracks of her door.

    ¡°Erika?¡±

    Erika¡¯s head shot around and she nearly swallowed her tongue, stood at the front of the caravan was Helga, looking slightly dishevelled and like she¡¯d just rolled out of bed¡­ Erika wanted to curse, she¡¯d forgotten that yes Helga had a bed under the steering box, she must have heard her.

    ¡°Can I come in,¡± said Helga with a faint, almost shy? smile. ¡°Some things are better shared.¡±

    Erika found herself blushing as she scooted up along her narrow bed towards the wall, usually she¡¯d object to someone bursting into her space but Helga was just trying to be nice, it wasn''t that she wanted to be close to Helga oh no not at all.

    Lost in her sadness she didn¡¯t notice Helga moving until her hand landed on her shoulder softly.

    ¡°There there,¡± Helga said softly. ¡°It¡¯ll all be ok.¡±

    Erika wiped the residue of tears off her cheeks and managed a wet laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re so composed? You barely look older than me.¡±

    Helga nodded. ¡°But you¡¯re a city girl, right? Vitki don¡¯t get out much so no wonder you aren¡¯t used to this.¡±

    ¡°And why are you used to it?¡± Asked Erika quickly, Helga¡¯s hand on her shoulder felt very nice and she was trying to avoid thinking about that.

    ¡°I¡­ well I¡¯ve always liked exploring, delving, getting into fights, the whole thing¡­ it¡¯s always seemed fun to me.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you joined up?¡± asked Erika wide eyed. ¡°For fun?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± said Helga happily. ¡°No greater reason than that, they didn¡¯t even need to pay me, I just want to have an adventure, I want to see the frostfire sky or Trollheim or Viterg or the Bloody Teeth you know?...¡± Helga turned to look at Erika but never stopped her gently patting.

    ¡°¡­And what about you?¡± she asked lightly. ¡°It¡¯s not fair for you to worm all my secrets out of me without giving up some of your own.¡±

    Erika realised she was trying to get her to open up but she didn¡¯t care. ¡°Well¡­¡± she started as her tired mind tried to decide which bits to lie about and which bits to keep at least vaguely close to the truth. ¡°Broadly speaking¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± asked Helga in the silence that followed.

    Erika sighed. ¡°I''m in it for the money.¡±

    Helga didn¡¯t look shocked. ¡°Debts to pay?¡± she said her tone oddly understanding and sympathetic¡­ at least oddly to Erika¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Some pretty large and important ones yes.¡± Erika managed, finding herself disinclined to lie to the woman trying to soothe her, she¡¯d been meaning to claim she was just greedy. ¡°And this expedition is the only thing that can pay them, I don¡¯t want to be here I don¡¯t want to be a delver¡­ but try finding another job that pays two hundred penningar for a few months¡¯ work.¡±

    Helga looked down at her and squeezed Erika¡¯s shoulder. ¡°If your still having trouble after we¡¯re paid off, I¡¯ll give you some of mine¡­ I don¡¯t need much you know? Rich parents¡¯ nice big communal home kind cousins and all that.¡±

    Erika felt herself starting to blush again. ¡°You don¡¯t need to promise something like that.¡± She muttered.

    Helga just shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re right I don¡¯t need to, I want to¡­ besides I¡¯ve always had a weak spot for pretty girls crying.¡±

    Erika giggled which became a laugh which turned into a guffaw. Whether it was the truth or not she didn¡¯t feel so scared anymore.

 Chapter 10

    Erika felt much better the next morning, Helga has slipped back to her bed at some point which had set Erika off blushing again, that had continued all through breakfast until the red was replaced with the pale of horror. Erika had been quite happy till she ran into Sigurn who was leading a droog by the bridle and grinning like a wolf.

    ¡°So¡­ you said you had trouble with the droog?¡± She¡¯d said, her voice so innocent and kind.

    Erika had tried to run but being a vitki didn¡¯t give you much stamina. Ten minutes later the expedition was trundling away across the dewy plains again but this time with Erika rattling back and forth atop a droog of her own instead of her in comfortable wagon, THEN Sigurn had said she needed to understanding scouting and sent her off ahead with Bjorn and now finally Bjorn had gone crazy and stared salivating at the ground.

    ¡°It¡¯s a hole.¡± Erika said with finality as she half fell off her droog.

    Bjorn the Bear-strangler laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not just a hole, its dinner!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not eating a hole.¡± Said Erika firmly.

    Bjorn opened his mouth and Erika glared. ¡°Say it Bjorn just say it, I DARE you¡­¡± With an effort of will Erika let Odium spill from her well causing a patina of colours, like an oily rainbow to radiate from her hands.

    Bjorn, twice her height and a dozen battles her senior, smiled down indulgently at Erika and her tough act. ¡°Fine Erika fine I will be good, now are you going to help me?¡±

    ¡°Help you what?¡± Erika said. ¡°And aren¡¯t we supposed to bring food back if we find it?¡­¡±

    Bjorn shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a scout so it¡¯s a perk, now help me get my spear lined up.¡±

    Erika sighed a little but didn¡¯t see any harm in it, instead she helped Bjorn get a long spear down from the saddle of his droog which moved next to Erika¡¯s and chuffed happily.

    ¡°How are you going to eat a hole?¡± Erika asked facetiously, she knew there must be something edible down there but had no idea how Bjorn intended to get it to come out.

    Bjorn just smiled mysteriously. ¡°Wait and see.¡±

    Taking up the spear Bjorn laid it flat against the bottom edge of the rough hole and, ever so gently, scrapped it side to side.

    *scratch scratch scratch*

    After a moment he repeated the gesture, moving the spear forwards minutely.

    *scratch scratch scratch*

    Erika was staring down the hole intently, there¡­ just at the edge of the light¡­. Something was moving!

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    *scratch scratch scratch*

    And there it was, a horned mole, big and fat its eyeless face protruding into a long snout and hundreds of bony spikes poking out if its fur and scrapping along the stone¡­ make a sound just like Bjorn¡¯s spear.

    Next to Erika Bjorn shifted his stance slightly, foot planted firmly his arms bulged, muscles exploding into motion, pinning the mole to the stone floor right through its head.

    ¡°Now we feast!¡± Bjorn half sang hauling the long spear back out of the hole with the mole firmly fixed on the point. ¡°You want some right?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ if you don¡¯t mind?¡± Asked Erika staring at the mole in astonishment, she¡¯d read about deep moles of course but never actually seen one.

    Erika looked at the lizard for a moment more, it was quite heavy in her arms and the blue mottled skin was a little unappetising. ¡°Do you want me to roast it?¡±

    Bjorn scratched his head and frowned. ¡°I thought it was the Spirit Makers that could summon fire?¡±

    Erika shrugged. ¡°Any vitki with an ignited Fylgja, Spirit Maker just means specialist in Fylgja spells but as long as you¡¯ve unlocked it you can use the spells and the associated element.¡±

    ¡°And you have?¡±

    Erika blushed embarrassed. ¡°Ah no... I just like talking about magic¡­ uh but I can cook it! I''m a life shaper after all¡­ one moment.¡± Taking a deep breath Erika sank her fingertips into the moles meat and pulled on her Well again shaping the story of the spell into one she¡¯d learned years back; she¡¯d never thought she¡¯d actually use it though.

    [Heat Blood] activated swallowing the mole in a cloud of red steam, a moment later Erika passed it to Bjorn who expertly butchered it¡­ maybe she should have let him do that first? Erika wasn¡¯t sure but Bjorn didn¡¯t say anything just handed her a few slices of mole meat. It tasted surprisingly pleasant for such ¡°wild¡± food, a deep rich taste with a harsh edge to it that reminded her of the smell of pine. Erika wolfed the slices down happily followed by the rest Bjorn offered up to her.

    ¡°Ok¡­ holes have great food in them.¡± Eriak admitted grudgingly.

    Bjorn smiled and bowed. ¡°You¡¯re welcome you¡¯re welcome! Someone showed me that trick first time out, thought I¡¯d pass it on.¡±

    ¡°So, the scraping attracts them?¡± Asked Erika mulling the idea over.

    ¡°Yup, just scrap a spear near one of these burrows and sooner or later you get a mole.¡±

    ¡°Do they think it¡¯s another mole? Its spikes sounded a bit like your spear on the rock, maybe they think it¡¯s another of their kind calling for them?¡±

    Bjorn shrugged re-slinging his spear as he expertly remounted his droog. ¡°A better theory than I¡¯ve ever had, but I¡¯ve never had one.¡± He turned to smile at Erika obviously wanting to show she wasn''t being dismissive. ¡°Honesty though Eri only cunning women care to think about that stuff, its good you do don¡¯t get me wrong but I¡¯m just paid to hit people.¡±

    Erika conceded the point with a shrug and a smile. ¡°Eri?¡±

    ¡°Your names long,¡± said Bjorn grinning.

    Erika¡¯s smile turned rueful. ¡°No, it isn''t, its as short as yours.¡±

    ¡°Mines long to.¡±

    Before they could continue a distant trampling sound became a closer trampling sound and the rest of the expedition pushed through the scrubby stand of trees they¡¯d been hidden behind. Erika scrambled desperately to remount her droog as Bjorn rode ahead again merging back into the mass of riders.

    ¡°I thought you were scouting?¡± Asked Alvis with wary eyes but a small smile.

    ¡°We¡­ stopped,¡± said Erika lamely. ¡°I¡­ thought I¡¯d seen something but I hadn''t.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± queried Alvis smiling fully now. ¡°Was it tasty?¡±

    Erika¡¯s eyes widened making the man laugh. ¡°You¡¯ve got juice on your chin.¡±

    Cursing softly Erika wiped her face roughly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re implying.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a terrible liar Eri.¡± Called back Bjorn as the expedition laughed.

    Erika smiled and waved away the teasing.

    If only you knew she thought.

 Chapter 11

    ¡°Wrong wrong wrong! How can you be so wrong, old temple, probably Odin, very dangerous¡­ all the dead gods are!¡± Katlin, the alf Gothi, snarled at Erika her high pitch and energetic voice the only sound to be heard apart from the creaking of carts and chuffing of the droogs.

    ¡°It seems all your growth went to your ears not your brain!¡± Shot back Erika flailing from the box of her caravan at the droog mounted alf beside her. ¡°Silvermane isn''t sending this lot half way across the realm for trinkets! They must be after something unique, powerful! A relic! Which precludes Odin since everyone knows where his artifacts ended up.¡±

    Katlin glared up at Erika who returned it eagerly, the windswept plains were finally ending, in the distance was the deep green of the Wald, the first primordial forest of Midgard, beyond which the Fimbulwinter waited like a wolf at the gate.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you talk when it comes to magick vitki but Baldr the Beautiful is the patron of history and culture and I have access to the temple archives which YOU DON¡¯T! It¡¯s a temple to Odin with the...¡±

    ¡°Traditional style yes I know, but it isn''t going to be a temple-fortress of Odin, the migration of the southern kingdoms northwards in the aftermath of Ragnar?k would have swept through that area and they would have settled an established temple to a major god, its one of the minor ones¡­ maybe the daughter of Sol?¡±

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    Katlin sucked air in through her nose with a whistling sound. ¡°Na?ve Na?ve vitki! I thought your kind clever? This was before mass production of runecraft so the site will not be reinforced, it would have collapsed after the flood and been unusable to refugees, fool!¡±

    Erika sighed, then a nasty look crept across her face. ¡°As stimulating as this is neither of us can be proved right unless we see.¡± Said Erika casting a pointed glance at Alvis¡¯ back.

    Tathra followed her eyes and then nodded. ¡°¡­hmmm, conceded, full agreement vikti.¡±

    Alvis must have felt their eyes because he half turned to look at them, with his long nose and patricians features he always put Erika in mind of a bird of prey ready to swoop.

    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± He asked languidly.

    ¡°We were just wondering when you plan to tell us what we are after exactly,¡± Erika replied smoothly. ¡°Or failing that why you hired two scholars when you didn¡¯t need them?¡±

    Alvis signed. ¡°We are after a temple that has recently been rediscovered, we presume like all such temples that it is stuffed with relics and treasures of the World that Was, we do not have any specific purpose beyond that.¡± He said it quickly like the flick of a snake¡¯s tail, Erika nearly believed him. ¡°And for your information I didn¡¯t hire two scholars, I hired a gothi and a vitki, your magick and runes are what I''m after, rest assured all the required scholastic work and referencing has already been completed by employees of the Silvermane syndicate.¡±

    Alvis didn¡¯t need to say Who I trust more but the unspoken words practically echoed.

    ¡°Ouch.¡± Muttered Erika as Alvis turned away.

    Katlin sniggered into her chest and shook her head her long ears swaying madly. ¡°We¡¯ll have to keep debating for the current time, yes?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes.¡± Said Erika eagerly.

    Sat next to her on the box of the caravan Helga sighed deeply.

 Chapter 12

    The expedition had been ongoing for a week solid now and that was with both the caravans¡¯ runes hastening the journey and Leirhofn being on the silver kingdoms border. Erika had been, not enjoying it but finding the journey restful, but that was across the Empty Plains. The expedition had passed through them over the trackless grass and into the thick choking greenery of the Wold. There were hundreds of Wolds in the realms, Ebonwold, Ashwold, Oldwold, Bloodwold, all of them had one thing in common¡­ they were young, younger at least than THE Wold. The first primordial forest, one of the only living survivors of Ragnar?k. These trees had seen Aesir and Vanir both fight, love and die, their every creek and groan was like a language eons in the making and the vastness of their canopy seemed like the night sky itself.

    They weren¡¯t like Yggdrasil at all, everyone could see the world tree from everywhere in every realm so Erika had long grown accustom to it, it had a yellow brown trunk which was shear apart from the nine branches that held the nine realms and a dense green cap at its very top. The trees of the Wold were the exact opposite fir trees each easily taller than ten men stood on each other¡¯s shoulders and so dark green they were nearly black, so think with leaves and branches you could only see their gnarled black trunks at their base, they huddled together like a murder of crows and seemed just as forbidding.

    Erika had been taken off her practise droog for now and she had the distinct feeling that the fun was over, the delvers didn¡¯t sing or joke anymore there was no banter or arguing, instead they were¡­ well not tense, but aware, sat silently with hands held loosely near weapons, the caravan had moved closer together droogs plodding stolidly along the Burning Road.

    Once there had been plans to run the tracks of the Bal-Vagn along here, to cut a path through the Wald, well the Wald had swallowed that plan, all it left was a single wide trade route cut into the edge of the great forest, torches and runes set along the edges of the grey granite slabs coughed out great gouts of embers every hour on the hour keeping the Wald back with a wall of fire and ash.

    When they stopped that night there wasn''t any singing or dancing or a roaring fire, instead they huddled in a press of wagons laid carefully along the dead centre of the road, a good arm¡¯s length from the spitting sparks. Despite this serious air the expeditions gaming tournament continued, people huddled in small groups near their caravans playing quietly, distracting themselves from the dark.

    ¡°Through the fourth Realmgate.¡± Said Helga smugly slamming the bead down again.

    Under truenight the few still awake had gathered around the Wagon Rush board, despite the dampening of the darkness there were still a few cheers of victory or moans of defeat. Despite the week-long tournament nobody was bored of it, whether they actually enjoyed the game or the just the distraction Erika didn¡¯t know.

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    ¡°You taught this one too well Sigrun.¡± Alvis said smiling broadly, he¡¯d turned out to be an excellent player over the last week and mellowed out considerably when he had cards or dice in hand.

    ¡°Taught, taught?!¡± bellowed Sigrun slapping Helga on the back. ¡°I wish I was that good! No, she learned all that herself, I''m pretty sure I still owe her¡­¡±

    ¡°Your firstborn and soul.¡± Said Helga smugly.

    As the others laughed Sigrun winked. ¡°Luckily I doubt me or Astrid will need to worry about the first one, as for my soul¡­ better you than Hel.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of Hel its Niflhel up next after the wagons pass the mists yes?¡± Said Tathra, apparently gambling being one of the few things he could be sensible for.

    ¡°Ah right¡­¡± Slowly everyone turned to Erika who grinned wickedly.

    ¡°Place your tokens,¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you weigh up.¡±

    As weights were measured and discarded Erika found herself relaxed and happy, the moon spun gently through the sky dipping behind Yggdrasil¡¯s branches but the Burning Road was bright at night, the breeze was cool and scented with supper and the company excellent. Erika had been taken out early and forced to play the roll of Hel in the game, a non-player adjudicator and moving hazard and Erika had found she actually had a talent for it.

    ¡°Be careful there Helga,¡± said Erika her tone heavy with mockery. ¡°A few more steps till the Gap may claim you.¡±

    Helga flashed Erika a cocky grin that brought a little colour to the vitki¡¯s cheeks then she slammed down a row of copper tokens.

    The scales were lifted up, the cards placed, breath held¡­ and¡­

    They tipped.

    The group cheered, groaned and sighed all at once.

    ¡°I thought you said you didn¡¯t play?¡± Helga called over the din, Erika just shrugged back at her. ¡°I¡¯ve played before but I don¡¯t do it often I said, I''m usually stuck being one of the player companies, I rarely get to play one of the gods, lots of people said not to?¡±

    ¡°Worst role.¡± Said Sigrun with feeling, tipping her tokens back into the main bag. ¡°Heimdall sucks to play as.¡±

    ¡°Well Erika took out the last caravan so she won the hand and to the victor go the spoils.¡± Alvis scooped the chunks of hacksilver and carefully weighing them. ¡°Looks like 3¡­ 7¡­ 9¡­ about talent¡¯s worth, one me to just give you that or¡­?¡±

    ¡°Please.¡± Said Erika and Alvis still smiling warmly handed her over large smooth disk of sivler from one of his pouches, in the light of sparks it shone like a second moon.

    Erika looked at it for a long moment then put it into her empty money pouch, for some reason the tiny weight felt very¡­ comforting. Maybe it was because she was finally back on track, soon she¡¯d pay back her mother, get on with her training, become a great vitki and never leave the city again.

    ¡°You up for another round Erika?¡± Asked Helga stirring the games tokens around in their leather pouch.

    Erika tried not to grin. ¡°Why not?¡±

 Chapter 13

    A week and a half into their journey, on a wet and rainy Thorsday morning, the Silvermane expedition finally re-entered civilisation. Admittedly in this case civilization was a tiny woodcutters hamlet filled with rough drunks and lumber consortium agents¡­ but it had a bath and that was Erika¡¯s main concern.

    The town was called Lindholm and it consisted of a few hundred rough houses spread across both sides of the Burning Road joined by a large stone bridge that crossed over the sparking runes. The houses had white washed walls and old dull thatch and stank of rotting plants and beer, a few taverns supplied the workers with a night¡¯s reprieve with two proper halls watching over them, Erika saw the sigil of the Skj?ldung clan on one of them and the mark of the lumber consortium on the other. As the expedition had arrived dozens flocked towards it, eager for stories and news from the world outside, but the rest kept trooping stolidly into the Wold bearing axes and returning covered in sap and burdened under huge branches shaved from the Wolds great trees, distant sawing could be heard as treetops visibly shook in the distance, the smell of fresh cut wood clashed with the funk of the Lindholm¡¯s obvious lack of a sewer system.

    Erika had been invited along with the expedition to partake in jarl Einar Skj?ldung¡¯s hospitality in his hall, after listening to a few boasts and watching Sigurn demolish an entire keg of mead Erika had taken a nice hot bath, drawn for her by the Jarl¡¯s thralls, and then headed out into town.

    Erika wasn''t sure what to actually do, she didn¡¯t particularly want anything from the tiny dirty market and she wasn''t going anywhere near the tavern, which already rang with the sound of fighting, so instead she wandered back and forth along the cluttered trails that served as Lindholm¡¯s streets, Helga didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    Erika hadn''t asked her to come along but she certainly hadn''t complained but she was complaining about¡­

    ¡°The guards here are terrible! I bet I could burn the village down before they stopped me.¡±

    ¡°Your ladyship ah does my eyes deceive me? Your beauty is as a manifestation of Freya herself, your skin as smooth as¡­ AH!¡±

    ¡°Calm down my fine canyons please.¡±

    Erika sighed and turned away from her date? Was it a date? Did Helga think it was, what did that mean, did she mind? Did Helga mind? And looked at the agents of the Silvermane syndicate trailing in her wake.

    Apparently ¡°kill the vitki first¡± was standard bandit protocol for low circle vitki like Erika (after about the fourth circle that changed to ¡°run¡±), plus Wold bandits and raiders weren¡¯t the only trouble they might have, Alvis explained to Erika that a number of the Clans might benefit from the expedition failing and might have sent mercenaries after them to sabotage or assault them.

    So the newly terrified Erika, who was once again cursing her luck, hadn''t complained much when Alvis had assigned his three subordinate agents to follow her around town. Apart from Tathra the trap smith there was Solvor, who¡¯d reintroduced herself as an archer, and a wirery middle aged man called Snorri, an aspiring Skald and former soldier whose nose was flattened across half his face from some decades gone bar brawl.

    ¡°Do you lot have to stay so close by?¡± asked Erika after a moment as the moving argument slammed to a halt behind her. ¡°I¡¯ve got Helga with me so can¡¯t you¡­ step back a bit?¡±

    ¡°No can-do lady vitki,¡± replied Snorri with a respectful but firm tone of voice. ¡°The boss said to stick to you like glue which is what we¡¯re gonna do.¡±

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    ¡°Gotta obey orders, yes.¡± Added Tathra without much rancour.

    ¡°It is our duty to always be most subtractive in obeying our orders.¡± Solvor said, obviously trying to sound wise.

    Erika stopped moving for a moment as she deciphered that then sighed and shook her head, her ash blonde hair waved in the evening light as she ran a hand nervously through it.

    ¡°I know I know but it¡¯s just¡­ I thought I¡­ I mean I thought this place would be safe! That I wouldn¡¯t¡­¡±

    Erika felt tears misting her eyes, she hated this but it was overwhelming her, the dirty droogs, the boredom and the worry, now people might try to assassinate her! She¡¯d just wanted a day to be¡­

    ¡°Erika.¡± Helga cut off the burgeoning tearful rant with a single word and a kind smile. ¡°I get it, I really do¡­ but I think I can help.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Asked Erika trying not to sound like a child, she wasn¡¯t sure if she succeeded by the indulgent look in Helga¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we all get something to eat.¡± With that Helga pointed to the side where sat a tiny open-air restaurant consisting of an oven on wheels an umbrella and a handful of benches. Plumes of smoke vented from the ball shaped oven occasionally overwriting the stench of the street with the sweet smell of roasting meat.

    ¡°What do they have?¡± Asked Erika trying to buy some time to recover from her near breakdown, Helga patted her shoulder and squinted at the distant kitchen. ¡°I can see leathe soup.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I like leathe.¡±

    Without another word Helga dragged Erika over a table and sat her down the Silvermane agents surrounding her as Helga wandered over to the chef. A few shards of hacksilver later and Helga came back with a tray covered in steaming bowls and cool flagons.

    Erika took one and smiled up at Helga. ¡°Thank you.¡± She murmured before settling into her soup, it was very good leathe, freshly pickled and a nice light blue colour and the beer it was served with was good as well.

    ¡°Its fine to be overwhelmed kid, this IS your first time out.¡± Erika was surprised to see Snorri giving her a reassuring smile. ¡°I mean the three of us have been through a LOT together, years and years in the syndicate and even then, they said¡­¡± He stopped and gritted his teeth.

    ¡°Said what?¡± Erika asked.

    ¡°Apparently most beauteous Speaker none of us are¡­ well¡­ fully qualified to be on this expedition, according to the Silvermane guidelines at least, yes.¡±

    That stalled Erika for a moment, even Helga seemed surprised.

    ¡°But you ARE part of the expedition?¡±

    Solvor shrugged, an expressive gesture that forced Erika to keep her eyes firmly on the woman¡¯s face. ¡°We were the only Silvermane team within radish of the mission.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re still pretty damn good.¡± Said Tathra, Erika wasn''t sure if he was trying to persuade her or his friends. ¡°We have journey together for many years, vanquishing evil and rescuing fair damsels, yes yes.¡±

    Erika decided to ease the mood by asking the obvious question. ¡°Oh, got any good stories?¡±

    That seemed to be just the thing to say, the three agents perked up and began to talk at cross purposes, interrupting each other, poking and prodding, as the story traded mouths like a runner¡¯s baton.

    ¡°We took down a Terrorclaw once, twice as big as any I¡¯ve ever seen and three times as angry.¡±

    ¡°It had been ramparting a trade route, swimming up from the sea and hiding in the delta¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Then Snorri came up with a plan, he camped out in the swamp alone, trying to bait in it, day after day until¡­ he dropped his lunch!¡±

    ¡°It was a good plan and it worked! My special hot sauce in the water attracted it, it came rising up out of the deep like a black ship filled with teeth.¡±

    ¡°Solvor was the one who actually dealt with it of course, I mean Tathra isn''t a bad shot and I¡¯m decent with a sword but something that big¡­ it was terrify, she leapt onto its side, stuck her axe in its eye and pulled its jaw out of its head!¡±

    ¡°I did what was expectorated of an agent in good standing, nothing more, your praise is most gyroscopic.¡±

    Erika found herself actually relaxed, the three agents suddenly seemed like¡­ well, like three people. They teased and laughed and acted normal, the minutes turned to hours, bowls were refilled, flagons emptied, Helga told a few tales, even Erika was coaxed into it regaling them all with her best story (Not an incredible one even she admitted but helping a squad of blackhelms hunt down a lokispawn in the sewers of Lindholm was still pretty decent, even if she¡¯d been hiding behind her mother all day).

    In the end the group staggered back to the encampment and their tents and Erika felt¡­ well the best she had since leaving home.

 Chapter 14 Part 1

    Chapter 15

    ¡°Most people say to avoid where the old gods fell, lots of crap about the wyrd you know? Don¡¯t listen to them kid. A few drops of an Aesir¡¯s blood? You and I can run this town.¡±

    -Last recorded words of Alvar Bjornson before his doomed Trollheim expedition.

    The day started so well, Sol hung in the sky warm and bright, Yggdrasils distant leaves cast deep green shadows across the Realm, the light scent of flowers was on the breeze. The expedition had just left Lindholm and was traveling up the Burning Road into the depths of the Wold, despite the gloom under the trees people were laughing, droogs chuffing, the handful of scouts that usually led the expedition were happily milling around the chum wagon, relieved to be on a proper road for once, some of the delvers were even off hunting in the woods of the Wold despite the danger of enchantment or lokispawn lingering in its depths.

    Erika had just gotten back from helping Bjorn with one such foraging mission, she hopped up onto her shiny green caravan and handed some of her haul up to Helga who took it with a smile. Sigrun was arguing with Alvis, Tathra was being shooed off Solvor even the damn alchemist Ammeris seemed a bit less up tight today, drinking from a flask of something hidden up her sleeve and telling a boisterous tale of stopping a house-burning. Next to Erika¡¯s wagon a few of her fellow foragers had stopped and were chatting happily, one had just raised a waterskin to his lips when he shuddered slightly and let out a faint moan, more a rustle of air than a real sound.

    Erika leant off the box to look at him, maybe he was choking on his drink? She thought. Looking at him closely she saw his waterskin was still tipped downwards, a cool clear stream running down his chest, across the furs and linen¡­ and around the haft of the arrow embedded in his lung.

    ¡°AMBUSH!¡± Helga screamed leaning across and dragging Erika back as suddenly the Wold came alive with bandits and brigands, men and women nearly all human but with a handful of Jotunkin, all wearing thick fur daubed with moss and dirt over dulled chainmail and vine wrapped shields, shining axes and razor-sharp swords appeared from sheathes and bags as they howled and charged.

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    Instantly pandemonium reigned, Erika saw Solvor charge forwards fists flying with Bjorn on her heels shouldering his huge longbow, Ammeris started desperately fiddling with her pouches and vials as Tathra drew a short bow and vanished into the dark undergrowth. In the distance a second volley of arrows hummed out of the trees and slammed down into the caravans leaving screams echoing in their wake.

    ¡°Shield wall!¡± Sigurn¡¯s voice cut through the tumult, dragging the stunned expeditionaries together, wood clacked against wood as a handful of shields were raised but the enemy was already amongst them.

    Erika had never felt so scared in her life, she found herself literally frozen with terror like she was watching herself from outside her own body, watching a stupid girl in a pointless cloak who was probably going to die.

    ¡°Vitki! GET THEIR ARCHERS!¡±

    Sigurn¡¯s voice rose over the din and seemed to echo in Erika¡¯s mind, the world came back to life in a single instant.

    The cold burn of fear replaced with the hot burn of desire in Erika¡¯s chest, she wasn''t as good as she¡¯d said, she wasn''t as good as they deserved, but she knew she was all they had and she was damned if she¡¯d let her friends get hurt.

    Sliding herself out from under Helga¡¯s protective arm Erika climbed up on top of her caravan, the distant archers still reloading couldn¡¯t stop her as she took her stance and drank from her Odium Well as deeply as she could.

    Vitki were measured by circles and ranks, ranks were more complex but boiled down to how many parts of your soul have you ignited and thus how many of the Pillars of magic can you use? Unlocking only one Pillar grants the title of neophyte. Circles are easier to understand, higher circle? Better spell. Muscle Spasm was a 1<sup>st</sup> circle spell and Tear Musculature was a 4<sup>th</sup> circle one.

    It took years for a vitki to grow in circle, they needed to live, to change, to become more, unlocking Pillars was even harder. Erika wasn''t some once in a life time genius, she wasn''t a chosen demi-god, but she was good at what she did¡­ very good in fact. She may only be second circle but she was an apprentice not a neophyte, she had ignited two parts of her soul and she shoved Odium into both of them.

    Combination casting was hard, exhausting and dangerous but it was the reason that ranks were separate from circles, if you were lucky enough to learn a cross Pillar spell, each of them was stronger than normal, generally they were considered one circle higher for each extra pillar you used.

    The long and the short of it? Erika could cast basically a third circle spell, and she was damn well going to.

    ¡°Far-flung creature I call you to feast

    You who ever chased the goddess east

    Your fetters I shatter from most to least

    By my hand I free the Gorebeast!¡±

 Chapter 14 - 2

    Blood was splashed across the light grey bricks of the Burning Road, bandits and raiders hooted and howled, people screamed and cried for help and above all this rose a howl¡­ a howl like the world was ending, a howl like Fenris wolf being freed.

    Erika staggered backwards atop her roof, slumping over and onto the green plates as her arm burned, her Well sucking at her very soul as it overdrew. But she barely noticed instead staring at the Gorebeast in front of her.

    It did look a bit like a wolf, but one made by a minimalist¡­ and out of blood. Just blood, floating in the air forming the shape of a creature without the sack of flesh usually needed. Erika looked it in the eye and willed a command towards it.

    ¡°Kill the enemy archers.¡±

    The Gorebeast didn¡¯t respond instead it took off, flowing and running at the same time off the rooftop and out into the green damp darkness of the Wold. Within seconds Erika heard screams and felt flashes of energy across her link with the Gorebeast, as it bled her foes it fed her with their Odium.

    She felt the sucking pain in her chest calm as the power flooded in, her Well refilling just a bit. In the middle distance she saw the shield walls had broken the main charge, now they formed islands of defence in the sea of attackers, Erika saw burning men their chainmail red hot from Ammeris¡¯ alchemy, she saw delvers riddled with arrows, she saw Bjorn staggered back into a caravan minus a hand, blood slicked the runes of the Burning Road and was drank greedily by the roots of the Wold.

    Erika fell backwards off her caravan, her stomach in her mouth as she toppled and slammed into the dirt, she could see a handful of archers still standing in the distance ducking and running between the great dark trunks of the Wold¡¯s fir trees as her Gorebeast chased them with sickening slickness running over and under the roots and branches as it toyed with its prey.

    Erika felt like she was going to throw up¡­ ah no, not like, was going to. Erika wretched violently into the dirt brown bile spreading across the dirt as her muscles locked and spasmed. This wasn''t even her overdraw doing it, she¡¯d just killed someone¡­ a lot of someone¡¯s in fact. Erika doubled over and retched again, the stench of blood hung heavy in the air and the ringing of metal on metal filled Erika¡¯s ears as she desperately wished she¡¯d just stayed at home.

    ¡°Well done, Erika!¡± Erika flinched but saw it was only Helga, she¡¯d fetched a bearded axe from somewhere and held her shield ready stood at Erika¡¯s flank. ¡°Sigurn¡¯s probably fine now, head for the red wagon, you might be able to help some of the injured.

    Not knowing what else to do Erika nodded and ran into the melee. Erika had been near the middle of the expedition column when the ambush was sprung but she could see the red enamelled caravan from where she stood, taller than average with eight wheels and four droogs who shifted and strained in their harnesses, each had their fur stained red as they gored any bandit unlucky enough to get close.

    Erika could barely make out was what going on but the flow of battle seemed to have stalled, the majority of the expedition had fallen back into a dense core surrounding the caravans whilst the bandits ran free around them. The southern border on the Wold had been claimed by the main bandit force, Erika could see them trying to smash through the shieldwall, Sigurn had joined it she had an onyx black shield and a gleaming green axe big enough for a two hander than she spun easily in only one. Solvor ran past Erika going the other way, her arm gored by something and a snaped off arrow still embedded in her thigh.

    Rounding a corner Erika suddenly found herself face to face with a raider, tall with pale skin and brown hair he stank like an animal or a pile of refuse, covered in fur and chain and holding an ironbound club, he leered at her and raised his arm. Erika began to draw on her well, even as the pain made her vision swim¡­ then the Gorebeast arrived. It followed her heart and will after all, Erika hadn''t noticed that it had been following her but there it was, the shape of a wolf made from free flowing blood. It touched the raider and he screamed and dried and died, his blood flowing without a wound into her creation.

    Another two appeared around the side of the caravan, one with a long spear and the other carrying paired knives, The Gorebeast leapt upon the spearman, flowing around his weapon and consuming him. The knifewoman ran but she couldn¡¯t escape fast enough.

    Erika hesitated cried¡­ and ran, there was too much pain, too much bloodshed. She ran harder than she ever had, panting and wheezing and desperately forcing her legs to keep moving just one more step, she wasn¡¯t supposed to be athletic! She was a vitki by the gods! She was supposed to be in a nice warm tower safe behind high walls and thick doors.

    Vaulting over an arrow riddled droog Erika stumbled on the ever-renewed ash that layered the burning road and landed heavily on a corpse, Erika tried to scream but all that came out as a horse whimper as her lungs burned and her visioned darkened.

    ¡°uhuhuhuhuh.¡± Moaned the corpse.

    Erika¡¯s first thought was Oh of course a draugr on top of everything, her second thought was she¡¯s still alive? It was only a few metres to the red caravan she¡¯d been aiming for and Erika knew what she should do, what she had to do¡­ Damn it all.

    Erika reached down and grabbed the arm of the woman lying on the ground, she looks to be middle aged with silver in her brown hair and her arms were corded with dense muscles, her skin had a faint blue tint under the blood hinting at distant jotun ancestry. That was probably the only thing that saved her when her crude leather cuirass had broken around a long iron arrow, it was embedded in her gut, an agonising and deadly wound but one that would probably take a while to kill her.

    [Restorative Draft] doubled Erika over in pain as her well dried again but the woman stirred and groaned with a bit more energy as the spell flowed into her, it should have topped up her blood a bit but Erika knew she needed bigger spells and a safer place to heal her.

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    ¡°Thank you.¡± The woman muttered, she seemed to be trying to get up, Erika leant forwards dragging her by her arm and scrabbled towards the caravan even as the world seemed to be falling into chaos all around her. A pair of duelling men tumbled past her iron swords flashing, a thrown spear nearly took out her knee, a man entirely on fire ran past her screaming and¡­

    Erika slammed into the back ledge of the red caravan, retching onto the wood, luckily for her instantly strong arms seized her and dragged her up and in, taking the arm and weight of the woman from her as well and pulling her up next to vitki.

    Erika tried to sit down but only managed to fall in a corner, fatigue burning in her limbs she tried to vomit again but only spat up acid and air as her sides pulsed and contracted.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, let it all out Erika.¡± Said a rough but warm voice next to her ear, Erika felt a hand pat her on the shoulder once before withdrawing and returning with a waterskin which it dangled next to her eye. Erika grabbed it, drank a few mouthfuls, spat them up, drank some more and finally managed to look at Bjorn who was sat opposite her with a big, pained, smile on his face¡­ and missing a hand.

    Outside battle still raged but Erika felt her mind finally shift gear, this was something she could help with, this was something her magic could do. Calling back her Gorebeast she set it to defend the caravan as she rolled up her sleeves and helped.

    Bjorn she couldn¡¯t do much for, regenerating lost body parts was 4<sup>th</sup> circle and even reattaching them as 3<sup>rd</sup>, Erika did have the foundational spell of a life shaper though [Smith Flesh] to close the wound and seal the stump.

    The woman Erika had dragged in was more involved, Erika carefully sculpted her the flesh of her stomach, moving her organs, rebuilding her gut, moving the arrow out and upwards until it clattered on the floor.

    Two others were lying there, a short man with a green streak dyed in his hair, a short white fur tunic and a huge wound carved down from his ribs to his thigh. The other was of indeterminate gender under the dirt and blood, most of which was theirs and was visibly leaking out of a dozen small wounds scattered across their chest and shoulders.

    Erika worked as fast as she could, she wasn''t a cunning woman and she didn¡¯t have much truck with medicine, to many fluids for her, but life shaping was different. The man got his wound sealed over with a shallow layer of skin after it was thoroughly cleaned out, the broken veins reconstruct as best Erika could. Next was the dirty person, Erika tapped them and used a 1<sup>st</sup> circle spell [See Within], reading the sacred helix of the blood Erika found out they were female, had distant alf ancestry and they¡¯d been hit hard by something, the cuts were barely worth talking about compared to the internal trauma, it looked like a wagon had fallen on her.

    Erika did what she could, sealing and cleaning wounds, stabilising organs, redistributing resources towards the damage. The pain in her well was getting worse and worse, despite the Gorehound guarding the caravan and feasting on anyone who approached. Erika was only a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle vitki after all, she¡¯d cast a cross pillar spell and it had hurt, burned some part of her soul, it would heal of course souls were nearly impossible to actual permanently damage but until then it was like running on a broken leg.

    Healing was entirely outside of her capabilities, all she could do was smith the flesh and bone and hope the body could heal itself, but it was working, she was making a difference!

    ¡°TROOLLLLLLL.¡±

    Erika froze, the word echoed through the Wold leaving silence in its wake, silence broken by the sound of snapping branches and the thunder like rumble of huge feet. The thick fir was shoved aside and out strode the troll.

    Erika leant out of the caravan to see and gagged when she saw it, she¡¯d heard how ugly they were but this was more than that, this was horror. Jotun were taller than trees but beautiful and skilled, a Hammertooth could as well but it was an animal even if it was bigger than a cottage and Erika had always thought their scales were beautiful and their tiny front arm were funny.

    The troll looked nothing like that, five metres tall at the peak of its strange egg-shaped head, its hair reached the ground in irregular strands of greasy grey, its skin was gnarled like leather or bark, its hands hung down at its ankles but its back was horrible hunched towering upwards like a mountain with its head bent forwards and twisted sideways by the mass. All that wasn''t the worst part though, that was the rocks. Its skin was covered in rock, growing through it, poking upwards from its bones they left open sores and infected flesh visible as the stone rumbled and churned and replaced them. Its hump was a boulder crowned by spikes of iron ore, its right eye a glittering gem and it¡¯s left a horrible tiny black spot, its mouth hung open drooling endlessly, its fangs made from twisted bone and shards of stone in equal measure.

    The troll stood at the edge of the road glaring down with its tiny pig like eye. The raiders cheered and howled as Erika noticed one was stood on each of the creatures¡¯ stony shoulders.

    The living siege engine looked down at the shield wall and idly swept its hand through it.

    Erika flinched as the screams reach her, a half dozen delvers thrown up into the air and cast away into the Wold. The raiders charged beside their war beast laughing and¡­

    Thunder rumbled.

    The troll screamed and staggered backwards clutching at its stomach electric blue fluid coating the ground as it howled.

    Erika turned around and saw Alvis holding a smoking thunderarm the size of a full-grown man, without a word he passed it to Tathra who stood at his left and received a new one from Solvor who stood at his right, raising the thunderer he aimed and¡­

    The howl and the boom combined into one deafening crescendo that drove Erika to her knees¡­ it drove the troll there as well. A hole the size of a boulder had been opened it its gut from the two shots, but even as Erika watched the stone ground and grew, plates formed over broken ribs and protruded out of burst organs filling the crater with a spar of solid rock.

    Stumbled upright the troll roared and charged, its trailing arms raising like a grasping child but its eye was full of bloodlust as the pain maddened animal rammed through the faltering lines and slapped Alvis with enough strength to bowl over an oak tree.

    ¡°Good shot.¡±

    Even in the roaring, the combat, the echo, everyone heard Sigurn who was stood next to the beast and¡­ holding its hand on her shield? How!

    ¡°I¡¯ve got the rest.¡± She said and¡­ her axe raised, a divine art Erika could feel it, the Odium in the air danced as the power of an Aesir was invoked, so much power! Erika had never felt the like, this must be the 6<sup>th</sup> step! Or even the 7<sup>th</sup>! She¡¯d known Sigurn was strong but that strong?

    ¡°Tanngrisnir come!¡± Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, Alvis fired again as the troll finally realised what had happened, raging it slammed its arms forward again and again, lightning struck down from the sky burning the rock from its back as Sigurn was suddenly upon its shoulder, the bandits fell as burning embers and the barrage of thunderer shots never ceased.

    Erika felt like she was watching gods fight lightning and thunder versus an army killing monster. It was like watching Thor Odinson reborn.

    Judging the moment appropriate Erika slumped against the wall and passed out from the pain.

 Chapter 15

    ¡°¡­ 3 dead droogs, 12 serious injuries split between man and beast and 7 deaths¡­ would be more without a life shaper¡­Ammeris needs more reagents, Skard lost his dagger and his brother lost his spear, Bjorn lost his hand and our vitki is nearly Drowned.¡±

    Drowning was the technical term for what happened when a vitki tried to cast a spell above their circle, it wasn''t usually fatal but it could be days before they could cast again, Drowning could manifest as nearly anything and Erika felt genuinely lucky that it had only made her mute and caused her skin to crack and bleed.

    Looking up from her personal cloud of misery Erika saw the concerned faces turned to her, she managed to huff, barely, and looked down again. She tried not to look at the corpses lying on the road, if she¡¯d been stronger, if she¡¯d been a better healer, she could have helped them¡­ if someone had just said¡­ if she¡¯d just seen¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s problematic.¡± Said Alvis simply as he fiddled with an abacus. ¡°We will be forced to adapt our battle plans for less people, luckily the dead droogs are offset by the casualties as unfortunate as they are¡­ and we don¡¯t need to worry about prisoners¡­¡±

    ¡°We can still do it.¡± Said Sigrun who was busy digging through her pack for something, a moment later she found it and gently tossed a vial of green liquid to Erika who stared at it wide eyed. Liquid Odium, very rare, very expensive. Erika stared wide eyed at Sigurn until the senior delver gestured for her to use it at which point the pain overcame politeness and she cracked the wax seal and downed the lot. The burning hole in her chest instantly relaxed, her muscles went limp and Erika slumped over backwards as the euphoria of painlessness overcame her.

    Sigrun nodded at Erika then, her usually sunny smile grim, she turned to the rest of the expedition, dozens of hungry, blood spattered and angry delvers who were huddled around the red roofed caravan (which Erika had now found out was the lead caravan as well as the infirmary) and grinned. ¡°I know you¡¯re all scared, that was a nasty nasty ambush and yes this probably wasn''t random, we knew we¡¯d be chased by Clan agents and foreign spies but saboteurs and assassins is more than you expected right? Well I''m sorry to say but this is what this life is like, this is being a delver, we do the dirty and dangerous jobs so rich pricks back home don¡¯t have to.  When Alvis and I worked together our first quest went to Hel in a heartbeat, I nearly lost an eye and Alvis did lose a finger...¡±

    Alvis waved his right-hand which Erika now noticed did only have 3 fingers and his thumb. ¡°A bandit far-eye with a recurve bow, aimed for my head but I happened to shade my eyes at just the right moment, hit me in the knuckle not the eye.¡±

    The group shifted and stirred, distress plain in the air, Sigurn paused then spoke more softly making sure to make eye contact as she did so.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re all new to this, you¡¯ve guarded caravans or hunted a few bandits, maybe cleared a lokispawn out of some farmland once or twice, you¡¯ve never had to face Hel before¡­ but I promise you we will get through this.¡±

    There was a long moment of silence then Skarda spat on the ground, Skard¡¯s brother was covered in deep black bruises across his torso and arms, he was one of the survivors of the trolls¡¯ sweeping arms when it smashed through the shieldwall, the glancing blow had broken half his ribs and hurled him away into the Wold.

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    ¡°So, we¡¯re sitting ducks for some mysterious enemy that¡¯s stalking us, we¡¯ve got a dozen dead in the first fight and our vitki¡¯s a liar that¡¯s about it right?¡±

    Just a few weeks ago people finding out she¡¯d lied had filled Erika with terror, now with the pain of near death and the fear of the troll in her mind? She barely cared enough to scowl at Skarda. Since she Drowned casting a third-circle spell it wasn''t a leap of genius to realise she was a second circle vitki.

    Alvis straightened up and tapped his teeth ¡°¡­ No,¡± he concluded at length. ¡°All our injured should recover with time, this was an orchestrated ambush but it was far too small to deal with a pair of silver ranks which means these bandits were probably already in contact with whoever sent them at us and they were used as a disposable means to slow us down, as for your other point¡­¡±

    ¡°She exaggerated,¡± said Sigrun kindly shrugging. ¡°Nothing more, she IS a vitki which is more than we expected anyway, we thought we¡¯d have to do all this with runes.¡±

    ¡°She lied!¡± Snapped Skarda.

    ¡°What are you 5 years old?!¡± Snapped Helga. ¡°Oh, she lied she lied, go tell a teacher if you care that much child!¡±

    ¡°How dare¡­¡±

    Harwa didn¡¯t even get the finish before Sigurn cut him off. ¡°She¡¯s a vitki, even if she is a bit weaker she is still a vitki, a one woman war machine¡­ by the gods she¡¯s a kid and she got more kills than me with that¡­ thing she summoned.¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have gotten my thunderer in time with her Gorebeast picking off the archers,¡± added Alvis. ¡°That was a powerful spell which helped turn the tide of the battle, to say nothing of her healing saving three critically injured delvers.¡±

    Harwa glared around. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious about letting her stay?¡±

    ¡°She saved my life.¡±

    The slightly husky voice managed to override the chattering as Kara Hammerfallen walked out of the crowd. She looked much better without an arrow in her gut Erika noted idly, a beautiful woman probably double Erika¡¯s age with silver flecked brown hair, the faint blue tint to her skin that spoke of jotun blood was barely noticeable now she had all her blood inside her. ¡°If she hadn''t used her magic to heal me, if she hadn''t given me blood and pulled that arrow out¡­ I¡¯d be dead¡­ I have a family I get to see again because of her, if she gets left, I''m leaving with her.¡±

    ¡°What she said,¡± Gunhilda added, she had been the mud and blood covered person in the wagon so battered Erika didn¡¯t even know if she was a man or a woman or a corpse already. She had a surprisingly high-pitched voice and wore the shining badge of a Silvermane porter. ¡°No offense boss.¡±

    Alvis smiled and waved a hand. ¡°None taken Gunhilda, Sigurn and I already agreed on this, we need the magickal support, Erika has proved herself trustworthy through her actions and her aid during the battle saved many lives¡­  besides leaving someone in the Wold is a death sentence. ¡°Erika tried not to blubber as Alvis continued one. ¡°We would have reduced her pay or even burned her contract if she wasn''t a vitki but she is, even if she has no other skill that alone is worth her share, we don¡¯t mind having a ¡­

    Alvis turned to look at Erika. ¡°2<sup>nd</sup> circle?¡±

    Erika nodded glumly and held up two fingers for emphasis.

    ¡°¡­ a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle vitki is better than a 1<sup>st</sup> and even that is better than none at all. A little annoying sure but we can adjust our plans for our target.¡±

    ¡°Our first delve me and Alvis didn¡¯t even have a vitki,¡± added Sigrun cheerfully in a transparent attempt to change the subject. ¡°Didn¡¯t go to badly... if you ignore the finger thing.¡±

    Skarda and Skard huffed and, in unison, stood up and scurried away sitting down on a nearby log with their backs pointedly towards the group. Nobody seemed to mind their departure.

    Erika looked around at the people, her friends, sat around her. She felt so stupid for distrusting, for being anxious. She wanted to say something to thank them for accepting her but the blood filling her mouth wasn''t helping in the end she settled for waving at everyone with a (lips closed) smile. Kara reached out and took Erika by the shoulder brining her in and hugging her, Helga passed her a mug and someone started playing some sort of stringed instrument.

    Erika didn¡¯t regret her choice anymore.

 Interlude 2

    In a dusty old cellar in Leirhofn a single candle burned, it was thick talon with a cheap wick and it burned messily and faintly trailing plumes of acrid smoke into the dusty rafters. The bitter yellow light was just enough to see an old cracked betsum wood table, smooth tiles plating the walls and twelve figures sat on rickety stools each one hooded and robed.

    One spoke. "So¡­ he failed."

    The others shifted.

    "Of course, he did!" said another shrouded figure. "We are dealing with Silverblossom and Sunblade here, two silver ranks who fought in the War for the Iron Lands, what were you expecting?"

    "It¡¯s been years since they held those titles," replied the first in a hiss. "Now they are just old humans, I excepted them to die!"

    "Not old humans, old delvers, they''d had a lot of practise learning how not to die, I doubt any weapon we possess can make them forget that." Replied the second with obvious scorn in his voice.

    "We need to send out another agent... a better one!" Sputtered the first.

    A new voice spoke, deep and booming. "Jorul had taken the fifth step in the divine style of Loki and mastered the dance of endless blades, we don¡¯t have any other field agents at the fifth step, we barely have any at the fourth! I told you civilisation would weaken them."

    "There must be something we can do right? Some scheme or weapon." the first wheedled.

    "Why?" asked a new voice, it was low and melodious.

    "Why? we took the contract! we..."

    "Will just be throwing good men away for nothing, assassins don¡¯t grow on trees and we are outmatched here. I read the report from your far-eye agent, apparently Sigurn didn¡¯t even notice our agents was part of that bandit rabble, DIDN¡¯T NOTICE! One of our best disciples killed by a backswing during a melee, she wasn''t just unharmed she was never even endangered.¡±

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    Silence rang throughout the cellar, the busy silence of racing minds.

    "We can¡¯t default,¡± said an officious voice. ¡°We accepted the contract and received payment, and that payment represents a significant portion of our operations budget for this year¡­ if we have to return it the guild will be in the red¡­ to say nothing of our reputation if word gets around that we can¡¯t complete our contracts.¡±

    Silence again, this time even busier.

    "What if...." the first voice began.

    "Yes?" cut in the melodious voice mockingly.

    Angry silence.

    "What if..." hissed the first voice sounding like someone desperately trying to stay calm. "We send the meridian after them?"

    Dead silence.

    "You can¡¯t be serious!" the booming voice yelled. "He''s a monster!"

    "So are we... technically." Said the second

    "The blackhelm¡¯s said..." The melodious voice quavered.

    "¡­they said that they wouldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to us if we caused panic in the streets, I remember well and that¡¯s why we caged him. But this isn''t the streets of the capitol or even little old Leirhofn, this is deep in the barren lands, past the Wold and into the Fimbulwinter, it¡¯s a land of monsters already so the meridian and her... cookery won¡¯t be noticed out there.¡±

    Contemplative silence.

    "It would be nice," said the melodious voice thoughtfully. "Not having to repair her cell every week."

    "And she is the best..." said the first voice now sounding excited. "She was the only vitki we ever got our hands on, her¡­ mental issues are problem of course but her power¡­ remember back when we let her loose?¡±

    More silence now filled with a slightly air of vengeful glee.

    "You think she can do it?" said a new voice, smooth and sultry.

    "Does it matter?" said the melodious voice now sounding gleeful. "It¡¯s like watching a devourer king fight a writhing bulb, one of them is going to die... and you just don¡¯t care which."

    " We are assassins not murderers, precision is important, no?" said the sultry voice again. "How are we going to control her?"

    "We''re not," said the officious voice. "Send her ahead of them by the dark roads, burn as many favours as we need for access to a Realmgate, after that it¡¯s out of our hands, isn''t it? We can send a few acolytes along with her to at least keep her focused, it¡¯s not like she needs to be goaded into killing after all.¡±

    Silence

    "It is agreed," said an old voice, heavy with experience and authority. "The meridian shall be dispatched with a full cohort via the dark roads to cut off the Silvermane expedition before they reach the Fimbulwinter, she will fulfil the contract or she will die¡­ either way the guild will win.¡±

    No one argued and, after a moment, a gloved hand reached out and snuffed the candles wick.

 Arc 2 Chapter 1

    Arc 2

    It had been half a day since the ambush and the expedition was still riding hard, Sigrun was pushing them faster and faster until the droogs grunted with agitation and anger. Erika had expected them to turn back but apparently bandits normally had spies in the towns near their favourite haunts meaning that the blood spattered and exhausted convoy had been forced to push ahead faster and further than ever before. The burning road was clear, but how long for? Erika knew enough to understand that the smell of blood would waft from their caravans and injured into the Wold where Things would smell it, hungry things.

    Normally going through the Wold even with the burning road was a slow process, you went from the silver kingdom into the Great Clearing via the burning road, then you hired a few of the Great Clearing¡¯s nomadic tribes to guide you close to the Fimbulwinter and pushed through the Wold at that spot, the ever-storm kept even the Wold back with its hunger, but instead the ambush had pushed them into a mad flight from the very start.

    Alvis had broken out the heavy weapons at least, opening a vault in the red caravan and handing out thunderarms to everyone in the convoy. Apparently, he thought nobody would run off with them anymore, since nobody could survive the trip back alone. They were Rumblers, basically hand held Thunderers, instead of a barrel as long as a person a Rumblers had a pair of forearm length barrels nestled side by side in a wooden muzzle with a heavy ignition mechanism at the end and a curved ivory grip and trigger. Erika hadn''t really known what to do with the one she was handed so she¡¯d just stuck it in one of the deeper pockets in her cloak of office and tried to focus on the road.

    Despite sitting back in her caravan Erika had started to feel quite sick over the last hours as the daylight wanned and the wagon bumped and juddered. In the end her salvation came from Bjorn, riding along in the red medical caravan, who shouted up the line to Alvis asking him if it was normal for hand stumps to turn green and if it wasn''t could they stop for a bit.

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    As the line of droogs and caravans thundered along the rune tiled road more and more voices added complaints and questions as wounds were found festering, eyes began to ache from vigilance and tense limbs began to go numb until at last Sigrun raised a hand mutely and pointed ahead. In the dense black green of the horizon was a sliver of light, a glowing wound in the primordial forest that let in the bright glow of Sol.

    As the endless canopy ended Erika breathed a sigh of relief and the expedition stormed out of the Wold and into the Great Clearing.

    The Wold could still be seen stretching off to each side, a wall of dense greenery and vegetation but ahead was the Clearing a nearly endless barren plain covered in short grass and nothing else, no trees, no plants, nothing.

    Nobody knew why the Wold didn¡¯t grow into the Great Clearing, all the rune work and magick needed to forge even roads through its living depths lasted at most a few years, the Great Clearing was older than Ragnar?k, nobody knew why.

    Steering them to the side Sigurn expertly drew the caravan closer together, riding up and down the line as she did so, slowing them down bit by bit as they approached the only vertical spot Erika could see in the flat endlessness of the Clearing, a pile of standing stones and shrines just to the left of the exit of the Burning Road. Dozens of towering obelisks of grey slate, each twice the size of a building, formed a sort of entry hall heading inwards towards a small artificial hill, its impossible regular sides covered in stone boxes with domed rooves in which Erika could see offerings and statues glittering.

    ¡°Ok,¡± shouted Sigrun snapping Erika out of her daze. ¡°We should be safe here, this shrine is well used so guards and delvers keep it clear and the Tribes as well when they pass by, every rest up and see to the wounded.¡±

    ¡°However, it is possible that our enemies may be waiting within, so keep your guard up and stay behind us.¡± Added Alvis as he shouldered his thunderarm.

    ¡°What he said.¡± Agreed Sigrun, she didn¡¯t smile, that genuinely worried Erika.

    The expedition poured itself down the column of columns pooling the foot of the strange round hill, the caravans coming to a creaking rest next to each other, layer by layer till they formed a wall of lacquered wood at their backs, delvers both injured and exhausted stumbled off their wagons and fell into panting heaps around the clearing, Erika smiled at this then fell off her droog.

 Arc 2 Chapter 2

    A few moments later when she managed to right herself and after she was done massaging some life back into her legs the expedition had already finished setting up camp, the caravan doors were thrown open and small groups patrolled back and forth, a fire was lit and a handful of Silvermane agents were wandering around gathering the droogs.

    Erika didn¡¯t want to but the first thing she did was head over to the red lacquered wagon, it was the largest and most expensive and normally belonged to the two silver ranks in the expedition, now it was a charnel house.

    Erika saw a good dozen people slump along the floor on thin fur mats, bruised, bleeding, riddled with fragment of troll-stone or covered in spark burns from the runic road. Two of Silvermane¡¯s lot were keeping them comfortable as Ammeris went to work, the alchemist was¡­ actually skilled Erika could admit, she was mixing up dozens of different potions using a sort of metal funnel linked to a load of bottles that spun around in a wheeled rack thing¡­ Erika didn¡¯t know what they did but she was moving coincidentally and every so often she pulled one of the bottles out and drained it over a wound, the thick sticky syrup of alchemy seemed to be doing something at least.

    Erika didn¡¯t want to see this, the blood hung in the air thick enough to taste and she knew she should be helping, but she couldn¡¯t¡­ casting cross pillar had Drowned her well for at least two days, she couldn¡¯t cast a single spell at the moment, not even a 1<sup>st</sup> circle one.

    Bjorn¡¯s hand wasn''t recoverably, the severed limb had been left in the Wold somewhere, Erika had sealed it over but a thin film of blue green was growing along the edges of the stump, when she saw it Ammeris made that little high pitched sucking sound that doctors make when they see a reason to overcharge before setting to work lathering and cut and dosing and bandaging.

    Looking up from her work Ammeris glared at Erika, but the fire seemed dimmed behind her eyes, like she was only doing what was expected. ¡°Ah vitki, here to swoop in and take all my work?¡±

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    For a moment Erika thought she heard yearning in her voice but there was no way, right? ¡°No¡­ sorry¡­ my well is still Drowned.¡±

    Ammeris rubbed her eyes for a moment and muttered something. ¡°¡­Ok, well in that case I need to get back to¡­¡± Ammeris paused mid-sentence then turned a gimlet gaze onto Erika. ¡°Do you know anything about herbology?¡±

    Erika wanted to step back in the face of that gaze but didn¡¯t, instead she managed to timidly nod. ¡°Uh yeah¡­ mother has a big library and I read some of the books sometimes¡­ why?¡±

    ¡°Ever heard of Rindr¡¯s Respite?¡±

    ¡°Herb from before the twilight, grows in dark damp conditions¡­ looks like a sort of dirty plate, right?¡±

    Ammeris beamed. ¡°Good¡­ finally something a vitki is useful for¡­ this place should have a barrow under it and Rindr¡¯s Respite loves growing in barrows, go down and get some for me, ok? Bjorn¡¯s humours are out of balance and the Respite will reset them.¡±

    Usually, Erika would have shot back a snarky comment but seeing the blood¡­ she couldn¡¯t bring herself to, instead she saluted (or at least a close approximation) and stomped out of the caravan. ¡°SIGRUN!¡±

    Sigrun looked up from a conversation she was having with Alvis and smiled questioningly at her, Erika had never met someone who could smile a question but she decided to focus on her mission. ¡°Ammeris needs a plant from the barrow under this place, I''m gonna go find it ok?¡±

    Sigurn somehow manged to smile wider at that and cupped her hands around her mouth. ¡°Take someone with you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Said Helga, the sagaborn was sprawled up against Erika¡¯s caravan but she started scrambling to her feet again but just before she could stand up another voice called out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about its kid,¡± said Kara Hammerfall giving her a small smile. ¡°You rest up, we¡¯ll look after her.¡± Stood beside her was Gunhilda the Silvermane agent and Reidar, the man Erika had healed, his green flecked hair instantly identifiable.

    Sigurn looked between them for a moment her expression indecipherable before she waved at her cousin. ¡°Helga rest up you¡¯ve been riding hard, you three are volunteering to keep the vitki safe?¡±

    ¡°She did save us boss.¡± Reidar said, his voice smooth and high.

    ¡°Yeah, we kinda owe her.¡±

    Sigurn nodded after a moment. ¡°Ok fine but the vitki is worth more than all of you put together, ok? Make sure she¡¯s safe.¡±

    ¡°We will,¡± said Kara, her voice full of conviction making Erika blush a little. ¡°Come on Lady Erika, the barrows entrance is down this way.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 3

    Erika wasn''t sure what to expect of a barrow, or of her new companions, luckily both were better than she¡¯d feared they¡¯d be. The barrow was accessible through the mound structure, a few of the domed stone shrines half hid a shallow passageway that wound downwards into the earth below. The actual barrow was primitive looking, the floor was stone tiles but the walls were just compacted dirt, the tunnels and passages wound back and forth dozens of times and everywhere you looked were the coffins, huge heavy horizontal stone slabs with a single thin cut through their middle where they had long ago been opened for a corpse to be interred. Now after centuries in the dark the living stone would have healed around the wound, keeping the dead safe and ensuring their eternal rest.

    As for her new companions? Kara Hammerfall had naturally slipped into the leader roll, probably because she was the oldest one there, she had the air (and the scars) of a veteran and Erika could tell she was a jarl, she had the unthinking confidence of one that bordered on arrogance and the poise of someone as at home at a feasting halls high table as a battle field shield wall.

    ¡°Down here! Ammeris said dark damp places, right? This way should take us to the hall of the forgotten¡­ follow my lead.¡±

    Gunhilda had turned out to be a Gothi surprisingly and of the little-known goddess Gefjun goddess of fertility, chastity, farming and monsters (A very weird portfolio but apparently she¡¯d inherited some of it from her dead son before Ragnar?k, as far as Erika could remember she used to just be a farming goddess). Gunhilda chattered nervously all the time, rubbing a symbol of Gefjun between two fingers as she did so but Erika noticed she had very good eyes, she barely seemed to see the gloom underground.

    ¡°Oh more rats, great, perfect, delightful¡­. Oh Gerfjun don¡¯t let them touch me with their terrifying little rat hands.¡±

    Reidar was nice as well, it turned out he didn¡¯t dye his hair green, instead he was a sagaborn but only just, he¡¯d happily explained to Erika that his grandfather had leaves for hair but his father only had green hair, he seemed to be the most superstitious of the group, insisting on leaving offerings at the barrow door before they headed down¡­ but it was a barrow so maybe that¡¯s just common sense?

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    ¡°By Magni and Modi and¡­ that third one with the m, please don¡¯t let me die, we aren¡¯t here to desecrate a¡­ was that¡­ no no don¡¯t worry everyone it¡¯s probably not a draugr¡­. Maybe¡­ possibly¡­¡±

    The reason Erika knew all this was her new party was chatty, before they¡¯ve gone a spear throw into the barrow, they¡¯d spoken more than Erika used to in a week. Gunhilda chattered constantly from her spot behind Erika where she played the roll of rear-guard, Reidar had drawn a Rumbler from his pocket and taken mid-guard position just in front of Erika although he often paused to shoot a quip or comment over his shoulder, finally Kara was the vanguard and lived up to her name with the huge heavy war hammer she wielded in tandem with a wooden shield painted blue and black.

    ¡°Oh, thank the gods no more rats¡­ just bones¡­ lots and lots of bones.¡±

    ¡°Baldr the beautiful please save me and my companions¡­ or if you can¡¯t, let our deaths be quick and painless.¡±

    Kara sighed and face planted into her shield. ¡°Reidar we are guarding the vitki, you are supposed to be making a good impression not begging for death!¡±

    ¡°I was begging for a quick and painless death, that¡¯s different.¡±

    Kara seemed to weigh up the chance of hitting him with her hammer than decided against it, instead she flashed a warm smile at Erika who found herself blushing, beautiful woman paying her attention was one of her weaknesses after all, amongst many she could admit.

    Like her gradually worsening guilt.

    The others didn¡¯t seem to care but if she hadn''t lied and joined this expedition, maybe she could have helped them? Maybe they¡¯d have gotten a real tier 3 to join?

    With her well Drowned she was barely a vitki, usually she wouldn¡¯t care but¡­ she joined, all the delvers were her responsibility, if she¡¯d cast faster or better¡­ maybe¡­

    Erika snapped out of her spiraling thoughts as she noticed¡­ semaphore? Or something like it. Her temporary party were signalling to each other over her head, Kara was waving her hands in small circles, Reidar shook his head and then tapped his elbow for some reason as Gunhilda made a motion like crumbling with her fingers over her forehead.

    A moment later they seemed to notice her watching them, with a sigh Kara stepped back and wrapped an arm around Erika¡¯s shoulders. ¡°So, Lady Erika,¡± she said with a voice like honey. ¡°What¡¯s it like being a vitki?¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 4

    ¡°Uh the same as not being one I assume?¡± said Erika rather wrong footed by the sudden topic change. ¡°I mean most of us don¡¯t even know we are a vitki till we¡¯re nearly adults.¡±

    ¡°Wait really?¡± Reidar stopped and stared back at Erika. ¡°I had no idea¡­ how does that work?¡±

    Erika scrambled through her memory for the speech her mother had given her, then shortened it. ¡°Ok basically vitki are born with special souls that let us ignite one of the pieces of our soul, all people have the same pieces but a vitki can ignite them, as a vitki ages she gradually ignites one piece based on her personality and has to work to ignite the rest over the rest of her life time, so you¡¯re basically a normal girl until one day when you¡­ I don¡¯t know, seal a wound with a touch or dream of the future.¡±

    Kara seemed even more interested, as she prowled forwards hammer and shield raised, she kept her head half turned to look at Erika. ¡°I always wondered about that, when I was little, I thought vitki just¡­ turned up one day.¡±

    Erika giggled. ¡°that¡¯s honestly not as rare to hear as you think, but you¡¯d need to be a tier 10 to make a vitki and there are none in Midgard, not since Ragnar?k.¡±

    ¡°Ok now that¡¯s something else, I¡¯ve heard lots of stuff like that¡­ like Sigurn called you a tier 2 right? And a Life Shaper¡­ what does all that mean?¡±

    Erika giggled again, this was quite fun, probably just because she knew all the answers but still. ¡°Ok that¡¯s a bit more complicated but not too much ¡­ ok so there are 6 and 1 parts of the soul, the six parts are the Hamr which is your life, your Hugr which is your mind, the Hamingja which is your fortune, Fylgja which follows you through life, your Himneskr the space within and finally your Banvaenn your fated ending. The one is your Odium well or Seidhr, which is what makes a vitki a vitki and is more the shape of your soul than a part of it. When you ignite one of these you get access to a Pillar, which is the name for a type of spells that you can cast using that piece, if you ignite your Hamr you can cast spells of life, if you ignite your Himneskr you can cast spells of space and time stuff like that, someone who is really good at using one of the Pillars gets a title based on that pillar, for the two examples I gave you it would be Life Shaper and World Holder.¡±

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    Kara stared goggle eyed. ¡°Uh ok I didn¡¯t think it was that Complicated.¡± She said lamely.

    Reidar started patting his pockets and shook his head. ¡°You want to borrow some of my charms? Seems hard to remember but bad if you forget, think I got a memory one around here somewhere¡­ now where did I put it?¡±

    Gunhilda was the only one nodding, Erika shot her a look and she just smiled. ¡°Yeah I¡­ I have some¡­ problems with fighting but I paid lots of attention in lessons back at the church.¡±

    Erika smiled at the general confusion and focus round her. ¡°I know that all hard to remember but the Tiers is much simpler. Spells are more complex the more they do, to learn a spell you engrave it on the part of the soul its related to and if its two complex you cant do that, so tier 2 just means its 2¡¯s worth of complex, there are 9 and 1 tiers just like the six and 1 of the soul, 9 totally normal tiers that are just more complex and more powerful spells having a higher number and finally 1 tier, the 10<sup>th</sup> tier, which is¡­ different, nobody knows how or why except for tier 10¡¯s but they don¡¯t seem to ever run out of odium to cast with, people think that maybe tier 10 is achieved when you learn to control the odium outside you as easily as that within your well¡­ also the tier 10 spells are insane, the most well known one is the [Strike away Malice] which was the spell that Eydis Helsdottir used to cripple Nidhogg.¡±

    ¡°I heard of that,¡± Kara said with a smile. ¡°The Skalds sing of it often, the dawn after twilight, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what they call it.¡± Said Erika trying not to seem two prideful.

    ¡°Uh sorry to interrupt¡­¡± Gunhilda was looking around the dark corridor with wide eyes, still nervously fidgeting with her charm. ¡°I just¡­ what are we looking for exactly? I mean I heard you say it was a plant but I don¡¯t know which one?¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 5

    Erika paused, raise a hand, lowered it, then thumped her head against a wall. ¡°Of course, I forget to say, Hel damn it all.¡± She cursed. Before Gunhilda could apologise she pushed herself back and gestured with her fingers. ¡°Rindr¡¯s Respite is what we¡¯re after, it¡¯s a grey brown mushroom that looks a bit like a plate, it has powerful medicinal properties¡­ since my magick isn''t working Ammeris needs it for the injured.¡±

    Erika found her spirits sinking again before an elbow interrupted her thoughts. ¡°You were finished,¡± said Gunhilda with a smile. ¡°What do all the pillars do?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ oh right¡­ uh¡­ Hamr is life magic, flesh weaving and stuff like that and it¡¯s linked to the element of water, acid and poison and like liquid, Hugr is mind magic and the element of lightning, Hamingja is fate magic and elemental earth and like solidity, Fylgja is the magic of stories and sagas and linked to the element of shadow, Banvaenn is the magic of death and ending and linked to flame and Himneskr is the magic of space and time linked to air.¡±

    ¡°So cool.¡± Whispered Gunhilda which made Erika preen a bit.

    There conversation had lasted nearly half an hour at his point as they navigated the barrow, the dim light let in my barred slits in the roof barely enough to see by as they tramped down layer after layer of crypt. Kara explained that the nomads of the Great Clearing didn¡¯t carry their dead with them but built these barrows to hold them, only recently had the wave of delver and caravaner casualties been added into them.

    In the almost organic silence of the tunnels the air was cool but heavy and smelled of the almost brown smell of moulding trees after rain, even the echoes of Erika¡¯s speech had faded away leaving the four in total stillness.

    Until Kara came to a sudden stop, to sudden as Reidar then Erika slammed into her back causing her to stumble forwards and curse under her breath.

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    ¡°Wh¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up shut up.¡± She hissed grabbing Reidar¡¯s mouth. ¡°Erika, I think I can see some Rindr¡¯s Respite.¡±

    Erika craned her neck and tried to look over Kara and Reidar¡¯s shoulders, they stood in what seemed to be a side passage leading into one of the various byways in the lowest layers of the barrow, runes of light gleamed dimly on the ceiling only serving to outline the darkness.

    ¡°Where? I can¡¯t see it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s growing in that burrow.¡±

    The oddly emotionless tone told Erika just what type. ¡°A burrow¡­¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Crude tents and a fire pit?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Obsidian tools¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Lots of shed fur?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s in a warg warren, isn''t it?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Damn.¡±

    Sneaking a glance around Kara¡¯s arm Erika saw the room properly, the coffins that one occupied it in rows had been broken and push aside forming crude walls and barricades, leather and hides thrown across them to divide the space into crude huts with bubbling pots and firepits strewn around the room, in the ceiling the ancient runes still glowed casting strange shadows around the room and illuminating the hole in the opposite wall. It was rough and unfinished, nothing but tumbled stone and loose earth as it sloped upwards but, in its depths, Erika could see a tiny gleam of dirty daylight.

    Of course, all of that was secondary to seeing the wargs, they stood only half as tall as a man, their heads barely level with even Erika¡¯s stomach, they were hunched creatures looking like little humans with tiny legs and to long arms, covered in mangy platted off-white fur their faces were the worst part, entirely inhuman they had the heads of leopards with two huge front fangs, each as long as a man¡¯s forearm. They wore only crude leather cuirasses and carried obsidian studded clubs which dragged behind them one handed as they knuckle walked around.

    ¡°Damn.¡± Muttered Erika shrinking back into the shadows away from the nearly soulless gaze of the lokispawn as they stumbled to-and-fro in their primitive camp and in the very centre, around which three of the monsters danced and pranced, was a crude alter of the trickster himself made from a desecrated coffin, the statue of the warrior defaced and mutilated till it bore loki¡¯s visage, growing around his head like a halo? A huge healthy fan of Rindr¡¯s Respite, enough to fill a barrel, thick and lush it grew out of the gaps in the stone filling almost a cubit of space with overlapping plates of mushroom.

    ¡°¡­ anyone got a plan?¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 6

    ¡°BLOOD AND THUNDER!¡±

    Erika slammed her hands over her ears as the war cry half deafened her, exploding out of the shadows Gunhilda ran forwards screaming and cursing waving a huge two-handed war axe over her head.

    ¡°What the Hel!¡± Shouted Erika scrambling backwards.

    ¡°Oh yeah she gets like this.¡± Said Reidar pulling his paired Rumblers out of their holsters.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that!¡± Shouted Kara Hammerfall as she followed behind Gunhilda¡¯s charge, despite the shock Kara didn¡¯t hesitate for a second, throwing herself into combat with her shield raised and hammer flying.

    ¡°I thought you knew?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯VE KNOWN YOU TWO LESS THAN A MONTH.¡±

    ¡°Oh right.¡±

    Thunder rumbled and echoed around the barrow as Reidar fired his weapons, blooms of smoke and ash filling the air as a one-man volley cut down a half dozen wargs. Despite the shock for the expeditioners Erika did notice that the wargs seemed even more surprised by Gunhilda¡¯s rabid charge, most fled, a few tried hurling stone spears or sling shots but Gunhilda ignored them all her axe sweeping back and forth like a scythe in a wheat field cutting down monster after monster in a blur of rage and blood.

    Erika trailed away as something inside her, something primal and ancient screamed. Erika may be a city girl but she wasn''t stupid and other people were, she had faced off with thieves and muggers a few times in her early life before she earned her cloak and she¡¯d learned not to doubt her instincts. Without a second¡¯s hesitation Erika grabbed Reidar and rolled them both forwards onto the cold and ancient stone, a heartbeat later the wall Erika had stood before shattered, something small and fast slamming into it with such power that a wave of force ripped the tiles upwards in a cubit distance and flung them around like a storm.

    ¡°WHAT WAS THAT!¡±

    In the dark cramped camp, a tent lifted upwards and was flung backwards as another unseen something slammed into the hide, Reidar scrambled upright again and looked around wildly, Kara had sunk into a defensive stance and was sliding back towards them, only Gunhilda was ignoring the explosions her axe still flying back and forth. Erika craned her neck and looked at the hole in the wall, it was¡­ a lump of rock? In the rock. It was older looking, blackened and smoothed by age but¡­ Erika turned as fast as she could and stared at the altar of Loki in the centre of the room, below the blooming respite mushrooms there were holes left in the coffin they had carved in offering to their god king, in the holes something moved.

    ¡°DRAGUR!¡± Shouted Erika and rolled into a ball on the floor, sure enough a second later another shard of torn off tomb was flung at her with the unimaginable speed of the living dead. The warrior who¡¯s coffin the wargs had desecrated was still trapped inside there, his soul long gone to wherever it went but his body filling with raw odium tainted by Bane until he awoke as a being of undying hatred.

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    The battle became even more chaotic, wargs ran screaming and roaring, dozens died by the seconds as Gunhilda mindlessly swung locked in her rage but Reidar cursed behind Erika and she felt him channel the beginning of a divine art, his Rumblers blurred as he reloaded them with thorsblut and metal shells then they roared again and again an echo of golden light overlapping him as his shots hit with perfect accuracy mowing down warg after warg¡­ but where was Kara?

    ¡°Lady Erika!¡±

    Erika¡¯s eyes widened, blood splashed across her, Kara was lying on the floor in front of her¡­ right arm a twisted mess¡­ and a shard of stone embedded in her shield. The draugr had aimed for her and Kara had blocked it, a piece of stone thrown faster than thunderarm.

    ¡°Kara!¡±

    Erika dove for the jarl and dragged her back into the lee of one of the heavier coffins and looked her over. Erika wasn''t actually sure HOW you checked someone for injuries except from reading adventure nobles but she knew it generally involved running your hands over them, Erika wasn''t ready for that quite yet but she could see Kara was breathing and conscious so that was probably good enough.

    Somewhere in the distance Gunhilda began was cursing and screaming, behind them Reidar was tackled over by a charging warg. Somewhere far above Erika knew the expedition was still waiting, how long would they wait when they didn¡¯t come back?

    ¡°All be damned, damned to Helheim and the mists! Crawling maggots and carrion eaters! I will destroy you all!¡± Said a wet rumbling voice, consumptive and sputtering but in perfect Cyril it seemed to echo¡­ because of the stone!

    ¡°Tough talk from a dead git.¡± Shouted Erika back using the vulgar form of street Cyril. There was a long pause then Erika looked up again at the chaotic room, the last few wargs seemed to be dying but the explosions had stopped. She was right! The draugr could talk¡­ that wasn''t very good actually, the ones that held enough mind to speak were the dangerous ones but they were in deep trouble anyway.

    ¡°You speak my tongue little breather? After all my long years waiting, I thought it would have died out.¡±

    Erika tried to speak but her tongue was dry, she swallowed and panted the whole battle had taken only a minute or two but the speed and fury had drained her more than thirty hours riding.

    ¡°I learned it from my mother and teacher a powerful vitki of the seventh tier.¡± Erika replied, it was never a bad idea to put the other guy in awe of you¡­ hard to do with undead of course but sometimes possible.

    It didn¡¯t seem to be now however. ¡°A vitki? You are a vitki? Ha¡­. I felt no spells little breather¡­ only foolish vitki Drown their wells¡­ those with you fight well at least, are you soldiers?¡±

    Erika looked at Kara who had managed to scramble onto her knees, her arm still clearly broken and her shield split, she couldn¡¯t understand what was being said of course but she seemed to be following Erika¡¯s lead, for some reason that Erika couldn¡¯t figure out. Even Reidar had stopped firing although Gunhilda could b e heard in the distance cackling as she chased down wargs.

    ¡°We are delvers,¡± said Erika truthfully. ¡°We are somewhat like a small piece of fruit pie? No damn what¡¯s the word¡­ twisted string? Stuffed tube? Ah militia, that¡¯s probably the closest word.¡±

    In the blasphemous altar Erika could see a gleam of light, a wet dead eye had appeared at a crack and it stared at her. Long dark hands stretched out from the gaps and casually caught an injured warg crushing its head like a ripe fruit, despite that the eye never left Erika.

    ¡°Lady Erika¡­ I trust you but¡­ but what are you saying to it?¡± Kara managed to whisper more loudly than Erika spoke but after a moment Erika realised it didn¡¯t matter, undead had sharp senses, something to do with the body¡¯s own demands no longer getting in the way.

    ¡°It insulted me, I insulted it, it was surprised I could understand and it asked if we were soldiers, I said we¡¯re kind of a militia and its thinking about that for some reason.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 7

    Kara looked down at Erika and screwed up her face. ¡°¡­ Lady Erika you just told a former soldier that we are, potentially, part of a hostile foreign power invading his resting place and you don¡¯t know why he¡¯d be interested in that? Even the dead keep their prejudices.¡±

    Erika looked up at Kara for a moment then swore loudly and turned back to the undead trapped in its altar-coffin, it still hadn''t restarted its hurling but the single lidless milky eye kept staring from the shadows.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t hostile to the people you once served we are just here for¡­. Flowing quickly water? Distance longer than a pace? Damn what¡¯s the word¡­ ah mushroom, we are here for mushroom.¡±

    ¡°Which one?¡± replied the draugr its voice seemed a bit more interested now, Erika just pointed at the fan of Respite that grew from the peak of its coffin, the dead eye rolled madly in the darkness for a moment then stared upwards, after a moment it looked back at Erika.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Erika went for honesty. ¡°Our fellow delvers were injured by ambush, they have¡­ damn what¡¯s the¡­ merchants of soap¡­ favourable orchard¡­  blood poisoning! Infection after their wounds, that mushroom helps.¡±

    For a long moment the coffin was silent, Kara held still as well despite the doubtless agonising pain she was in, the moment tensed like a coiled wire¡­ then Gunhilda wandered back in from the tunnel.

    ¡°Some of the little monsters nearly got away but I caught up and I killed one using another one like a club! Best day ever!¡±

    The three humans stared at her in mute astonishment for a long moment before a rough bubbling caught their attention, a strange sort of bubbling chocking sound like pebbles dropped in a river filled with sludge, the draugr was laughing.

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    ¡°I like this one¡­ very well clever little breather¡­ take the mushrooms from my coffin I care not... in exchange however¡­ push my coffin back into its proper resting place.¡±

    ¡°Deal!¡± Shouted Erika happily.

    ¡°What deal?¡± Whispered Kara.

    ¡°We get the mushroom if we push his coffin back into the wall.¡±

    Kara didn¡¯t seem keen on that but Erika knew one thing she apparently didn¡¯t, undead couldn¡¯t lie, at all, if they did their souls were dragged down to Nidhogg and devoured. It was something to do with being undead her mother had said, their souls were already loosely anchored and had had their chance at life, breaking an oath even implicitly like lying got you sent to the Oathbreaker place which was, to put it lightly, not great.

    Erika walked over staring into the glittery eye in the darkness, reaching up she tore a squishy handful of mushrooms from the coffins crown and tucked it in a pocket, the eye never moved, the limbs didn¡¯t stir, the draugr simply watched her.

    ¡°Gunhilda, Kara, can you push it?¡±

    A few sweaty seconds later the false altar toppled over, a few more and it was shoved into the hole that the wargs had tunnelled into the wall, apparently it wasn''t a tunnel but instead a sort of private chamber for the honoured dead.

    Kara stood next to Erika and Reidar as Gunhilda said the rites, tapping the runes on the coffin she invoked Aesir and Vanir both, alive and dead and, breath by breath, the eye in the darkness seemed to become¡­ lesser, it didn¡¯t move, it didn¡¯t change, but in its pupil, there was less until suddenly something in Erika¡¯s hindbrain told her it was a corpse again, just a corpse and nothing more.

    The group turned away, heading back up into the light, Reidar leading and Gunhilda lagging behind, at the rear Erika tried to prop up Kara as the adrenaline of the fight washed away leaving only the agony of her arm.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± murmured Erika. ¡°For saving me¡­ I don¡¯t know if I would have survived that throw.¡±

    Kara managed to a ladylike smile, although the edges verged on a grimace. ¡°We¡¯re even then, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    Erika laughed. ¡°Yeah, we are, guess you don¡¯t need to hang around me now, right?¡±

    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re not getting rid of me that easily lady Erika.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just Erika, Kara.¡±

    Kara stared at Erika, a strange look in her eye, then she grinned and looked away ¡°Ok.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 8

    ¡°Is it them?¡±

    Sigrun lowered the telescope, her eyes hard. ¡°Yes, and they¡¯re definitely following us.¡±

    The expedition had paused on the edge of a great cliff, the rocky outcrop under them providing good footing and a better view. The delvers had leapt from their mounts and caravans when Sigrun had but for once they weren¡¯t setting their tents up and chatting or eating and complaining, they were totally silent, watchful and alert, even the droogs were affected standing deathly still apart from the plumes of steam left by their hot breath.

    ¡°Are they from the same group that ambushed us?¡± Ammeris asked her voice tense, she was still on constant medical duty and even Erika could see it was weighing on her. Thankfully her Well had finished draining itself at last but it would still need a half day to refill, Kara was the one that weighted on Erika¡¯s heart the most, her right arm was still a broken twisted sausage casing, Erika had invited her to ride in her private caravan specifically so she could heal her the moment her Well stabilised.

    Sigrun studied the view for a few moments sweeping the telescope left and right before sighing and slipping it back into a pocket. ¡°No¡­ their emblems are different, no injuries, different bandit group.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that good?¡± Erika asked as the others cursed and groaned.

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    Sigrun favoured her with a small smile. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not Erika, it just means there¡¯s more than one after us.¡±

    Erika grimaced and look over the ridge towards the approaching bandits. She couldn¡¯t see them clearly yet obscured by the rolling planes and sparse trees of the Great Clearing, but Sigrun had spotted them two days ago prowling along behind the wounded expedition. She¡¯d told them that night and now for the first time Erika could just barely make them out, every one of them was dressed in swathes of dirty yellow linen carrying what looked like spears, they looked better trained than the ambushers although these ones didn¡¯t have a troll which was a blessed relief.

    A few moments later the distant figures turned, one of them spotting the trail Alvis had carefully hidden.

    ¡°They really are quite good.¡± Nodded Alvis approvingly. ¡°I''m surprised they spotted that.¡±

    ¡°You make it sound like you admire them!¡± Hissed Skarda fidgeting, he¡¯d been getting worse and worse the last few days going through periods of anger and calm as fast as clouds crossed the sky, Erika wasn''t sure what the Hel was wrong with him but even his brother seemed to have noticed it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t underestimate a capable enemy.¡± Replied Alvis woodenly giving Skarda a long cool stare. ¡°There is a difference, besides whilst you were riding for your life, I am the one who concealed our tracks and had Ammeris leave our pursuers a¡­ present.¡±

    In the distance a plume of green flame erupted into the air, a few moments later a muted boom washed over the expedition followed by distant screaming, Alvis smiled like a wolf.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t see that coming.¡± He murmured happily.

    Sigrun slapped her old friend on the shoulder, ¡°that should slow them down.¡± After a moment she gestured to the expeditionaries. ¡°Everyone get mounted up, we¡¯re riding out! We¡¯ll try to lose them in the singing cliffs.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 9

    ¡°It¡¯s actually really hard to do this,¡± Erika muttered as her [Smith Flesh] twisted and sculpted Kara Hammerfall¡¯s arm. ¡°I can¡¯t affect the bone with the same spell, so I have to line it up, including all the splintered shards, using your flesh then after pushing them together I use ¡­ ah yeah¡­ I use [Restorative Draft] to fix up the inflammation and internal injuries and finally I use a second-tier spell called [Regrowth and Resurgence] which finishes you off good as new.¡±

    Erika hadn''t gotten a chance to use [See Within] on Kara but she didn¡¯t need it, the [Smith Flesh] spell included in it the magical senses needed to see and control the resultant changes and the rest was decently easy. Erika never intended to be a clever woman, the rather old-fashioned name for a vitki life shaper focused on healing, nor did she aspire to be an alchemist or a chiurgeon but she was a natural life shaper, the first part of her soul that ignited, so her best was still pretty good.

    Kara flexed her arm and smiled, Erika tried not to stare at the rippling bulging muscles¡­ it was so much easier when you were seeing inside of someone, everything inside is gross but wrap it in skin and suddenly hormones happen.

    ¡°Thank you so much.¡± Gushed Kara wrapped her newly healed arm around Erika and hugging her to her chest. ¡°It feels amazing! Not even the slightest pain, the Clans wish they had healing like this¡­¡±

    Erika nodded, not noticing Kara¡¯s suddenly conflicted expression and trying not to suffocate, a moment later Kara seemed to realise and released the coughing vitki from her inadvertent joint lock.

    ¡°Oh, my apologise lady Eri¡­ Erika¡­ thank you.¡±

    Erika didn¡¯t really mind and just nodded with a smile. ¡°I''m glad your alright¡­ be more carefully in future all right?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    The response was immediate and made Erika purse her lips and frown at Kara who grinned back. ¡°If I did then that draugr might have injured you, I couldn¡¯t bear that.¡±

    Erika found her face heating like a camp fire and looked away. ¡°Oh, shush you.¡± She muttered.

    Trying to think about something else Erika busied herself unwrapping the last bandages from Kara¡¯s arm as the warrior herself kept rotating her arm and marvelling at it, Erika thought she saw a hint of redness on her face as well but she couldn¡¯t be that lucky right? It had to be some kind of misunderstanding¡­ regardless she¡¯d finished her job and saved her saviour which was never a bad thing. Fate might have broken with the twilight and the Wyrd might be gone now but honour still meant something as far as Erika was concerned.

    Stepping out of her wagon Erika walked over to the edge of the singing cliffs, throwing the wadded-up bandages off she watched them tumble away in the breeze before raising a finger to point at them. The mass of linen and blood stood no chance as a gout of purple acid hurled itself from her finger and struck it in the dead centre, Erika hadn''t used the elemental nature of a Life Shaper much¡­ but after the fighting? After being so helpless? She¡¯d decided she would learn. [Acid Arrow] was a simple application of principles she already understood, Erika still couldn¡¯t make new spells but her mother had insisted she learn ever one she could from her library, Erika was more and more grateful for that as the days trundled by.

    Erika sighed and looked out at the view properly, she should take a moment to enjoy it, the Singing Cliffs were a realm renowned beauty spot after all. The Great Clearing had no mountains but it did have divides, depths and dips. The shimmering white of the singing cliffs lined both sides of the largest one, a gash in the earth more than a day¡¯s hard ride in length, in its depth a river roared the sound of water echoing over and over bouncing off the shining slate until it became an endless susurration like a choir chanting in the depths.

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    The lip of the singing cliffs was a carefully maintain road along which the caravans crept, somewhere behind them a mass of killers and bandits were still following them forcing the delvers to rest in shifts, the caravans stopping only long enough for the droogs to rest like that were now. Erika tossed a handful of feed to one which lazily caught it, nodded at Helga who waved at her from the box and then walked back along the length of the caravan till she stood concealed in the half shadow cast by its bulk.

    Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a strip of half rotted meat, dull white fur could just be made out around the sickly stinking green that covered the ragged torn off end of the thing.

    ¡°That¡¯s a warg ear, isn''t it?¡±

    Erika yelped and fell over, a few moments later she was glaring up at a laughing Reidar who helped her to her feet.

    ¡°Its not funny.¡± She scowled at the man who was forced to wipe a tear from his eye.

    ¡°Of course, lady vitki, not funny at all.¡± He grinned.

    Erika stuck her tongue out at him and slumped down in the shade again as Reidar settled down next to her, his hands dancing across his array of charms.

    ¡°Bad luck to sit in the shadow at noon,¡± he said side eyeing her. ¡°Worse luck to carry a piece of a lokispawn along with you.¡±

    Erika glared at him and turned her nose up. ¡°I need it for magick.¡± She said the now go away and shut up unsaid but echoing.

    Reidar nodded, his green hair flopping to-and-fro, but he didn¡¯t seem convinced. ¡°And what magick is that?¡±

    Erika sighed and deflated. ¡°I¡­ Kara got hurt saving me, the ambush¡­ I need to be stronger, so I''m going to Graft this piece of warg.¡±

    Reidar changed the charm he was fondling but nothing else. ¡°You don¡¯t know that that means do you?¡± Asked Erika.

    ¡°I do not.¡± Reidar said without a hint of shame. ¡°Bad luck to lie to a vitki.¡±

    ¡°Hel damn it all,¡± muttered Erika. ¡°Ok look you know the stories of life smith vitki¡¯s? How we can turn into giant monsters?¡±

    Reidar settled down some more and nodded, even as relaxed as he looked Erika noticed he still kept one hand on the Rumbler in his thigh holster and one eye peering back up the trail they had followed.

    ¡°Flesh shapers can turn into huge beasts ay, wings and claws and limbs all over the place.

    Erika tried not to glare as he said flesh shaper but the rest was right. ¡°That grafting, you take the divine helix from a monster and graft it into a special sort of storage inside yourself after that you can transform your body into the grafted things body and eventually you can merge multiple grafts together into what we call a Warform.¡±

    ¡°And why don¡¯t you have this yet? Seems like¡­ ow.¡±

    Erika slapped Reidar around the ear. ¡°Stop interrupting and I¡¯ll explain, my mother said not to start grafting till 3<sup>rd</sup> tier so that I could get some of the best monsters to graft¡­ you have limited space to store grafts inside your soul and its really hard to change them so your mostly stuck with whatever you pick¡­ but I need power now, so I''m going to graft this bit of warg which will let me use their power.¡±

    Reidar wiggled a bit and stretched. ¡°Ok, seems good¡­ it can¡¯t mess with your mind, can it?¡±

    Erika stared at him for a long moment, for the first time ever Erika realised just how little normal people knew of magick. ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve been bugging me? You think it might make me go crazy.¡±

    Reidar blushed a little at her tone and Erika laughed. ¡°Oh oh¡­ that¡¯s sweet of you Reidar, really it is, but that not how this works¡­ it¡¯s like asking why a fire doesn¡¯t cool you down. Grafting takes the power of a monster and infuses it into you, nothing else.¡±

    As Reidar blushed and looked away Erika took the ear in her hand again, brushing the dirt and rot off as well she could, it didn¡¯t need to be alive¡­ grafting didn¡¯t even need good condition, just the divine helix intact.

    [Graft: Warg] Erika willed, telling the story to her magick, running odium through her soul, pulling it out of her well and letting it rage through her body, she told the story of consumption and monstrosities, creating the tale in her mind of a creature that became so much more than it was before.

    A few moments later the glow faded, the ear turned to ash and Erika looked around in awe.

    ¡°Ok¡­ Wargs have way better eyes than I thought.¡±

    ¡°..dy¡­vitki?¡±

    Erika looked up at Gunhilda, when had she arrived? And smiled. ¡°Wargs have terrible hearing, can barely understand you, but these eyes¡­ I think they can see heat? Is that what I''m seeing?¡±

    With a effort of will she activated [Form of Me] and became herself again, shaking her head and panting slightly, casting tier 2 magic back to back like that wasn''t something she should do, not as an apprentice at least.

    Erika didn¡¯t care though, her grin was a gimlet shining in the shadow, she wouldn¡¯t be weak again.

 Arc 2 Chapter 10

    ¡°¡­ and then I punched him in the face.¡± Finished Katlin, the only alf Erika had ever met, expert Gothi of Baldr and as it turns out a teller of some exceptionally dirty stories. Erika snorted and giggled which was drowned out by Bjorn¡¯s roaring laughter which boomed over the plains and bounced off the distant hills.

    The expedition was still running from however was chasing them but nobody could be vigilant all the time so most people had calmed down and those that hadn''t were sent out in shifts to scout ahead. Erika had asked Helga to slow the caravan down a little bringing it in line with a blue roofed one that carried some of the supplies and the injured including Bjorn and being driven by Katlin, Erika found that most of the delvers weren¡¯t exactly chatty with a vitki but they weren¡¯t chatty with an alf either so the two women found they got along very well especially with Bjorn there to grease the social wheels.

    ¡°What happened then?¡± Asked Bjorn slurring slightly, Erika couldn¡¯t prove it but she was pretty sure he had gotten into the medical alcohol somehow, he certainly seemed extremely jolly.

    ¡°Oh, I think I slept with his wife¡­ or his brother¡­ Maybe both?¡±

    As the laughter echoed again Katlin turned to Erika with a smile. ¡°Ah but here I am monopolising the stories, come vitki you must have a few good ones.¡±

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    Erika thought for a moment then nodded slyly. ¡°One or two, none quite as grand as yours I''m afraid, I haven¡¯t gotten into the same trouble you have but I did once¡­¡±

    Before Erika could begin however Bjorn raised his hand. ¡°We¡¯ve stopped.¡±

    Looking up ahead they saw that the main body of the expedition (the largest caravans and the sturdiest riding droogs) had stopped in the middle distance atop a small rise in the terrain. Sigrun seemed to be talking animatedly with Ammeris whilst Alvis looked at something hidden by the slope of sand.

    After a moment Sigrun turned and gestured back at the line of delvers, her arms formed a complex pattern in the air, then another, then a repeat of the first. Bjorn cursed quietly and with a short huff leapt off the caravan and onto a leashed droog. ¡°We need to move.¡±

    ¡°What did she say?¡± Asked Erika as Helga began to lash the reigns of the caravan.

    ¡°Come quick, big thing, come quick.¡± Katlin translated flexing her finders and shoulders, she was also pushing her droogs forwards falling into a tight column with the other vehicles, wooden wheels spinning inches from each other.

    Erika felt a bolt of real fear at that and cursed loudly it better not be another damned troll she thought as she held on to the rattling wagon below her.

    It wasn''t¡­ it was worse.

    The first clue was the sound, Erika heard it suddenly rising over the hills a tidal wave of noise distant and muffled but still fierce and utterly distinctive, a gushing sound like spraying water mixed with crackling like a fire. Only one creature could make a sound like that.

    ¡°A linnorm,¡± she muttered to herself. ¡°They¡¯ve found a Hel damned linnorm¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 11

    Arriving in the shadow of the rise the vitki and her companions leapt from their mounts and darted across the dewy grass, sprinting up the incline and scrambling to a halt next to the other expeditioners who were pressed flat to the ground.

    ¡°Down quickly!¡± hissed Alvis and they obeyed instantly, you didn¡¯t argue when a linnorm was about.

    Crawling forwards Erika couldn¡¯t resist, she was a vitki after all known for learning and knowledge and magic and a linnorm had and was all three. Nobody in her hometown had ever seen one, probably never would, she just had to see.

    Just ahead of them was a pit, a huge rough rocky depression wider than a village and deeper than a mountain. All along the sides of this rent in the realm itself were massive rocky tears and the yawning mouths of caves out of which flowed trails of water, cascading downwards like lines of silver then vanishing into even deeper pits, crystals gleamed down there the darkness but it was still all just a backdrop to the linnorm itself.

    She¡¯d seen illustrations before of course, linnorms were very well known and had been used as a symbol of power for a thousand separate petty dynasties. But none of their tiny illustrations had done the slightest justice to the true monster she saw.

    Firstly, the size. The linnorm was longer than a street but size alone isn''t actually very impressive mountains go up, Yggdrasil is big, but they are just there ¡­ background more than anything. The linnorm was different, it was fast. It moved like a lizard undulating body pulled by its only two limbs, a pair of huge clawed front legs. Faster than Erika could believe, it seemed to flit place to place like a bird, a damn bird! Barely seeming to touch the ground despite the weight of the massive armour plates that covered it, oblong scales made from some deep purple black material. Between the scales barbed blades protruded so that even brushing along a linnorm could disembowel a Jotunkin, its mouth was three parted, its bottom jaw splitting in half, its fangs were the size of a person and glittered like silver and clear glass both. Its throat was a light pink but covered in a sludgy blackness.

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    For a moment it simply moved around its domain then it turned it gaze onto a nearby spire of rock shot through with crystals. Erika knew what was coming but she still gasped in faint horror as the beast unleashed a torrent of the black goo within itself, it ignited in the air as the acidic poison tore even itself apart, its fury so great that fire formed. The rock melted and ran until all that was left was a cluster of diamonds which the linnorm happily began to eat, chewing on red hot gems like finger food.

    Up on the ridge the expeditionaries were frozen and still, it didn¡¯t even seem like they were breathing. Something about its appearance stroked a deep and primal fear within everyone who beheld the creature, A linnorm was the pinnacle of power in Midgard after all. There were many races of lokispawn, creatures that feasted on the trickster¡¯s corpse and became abominations, but above them were the Scions, the name for the children of the Bringers of Twilight, the three great calamities, Fenris, Hel and Jormungandr. Linnorms were the children of the world serpent, after his death the serpents blood filled the oceans and rivers with poison and from that poison crawled the Linnorm, malice made flesh or tainted snakes nobody knew and did it really matter? Each one was a city killer in its own right and this one looked hungry.

    ¡°Right¡­ who here votes we go around?¡± Asked Sigrun with obviously forced joviality.

    ¡°I do,¡± Alvis replied without any mirth. ¡°And I''m in charge so¡­ we go around.¡±

    As soon as Alvis spoke the other delvers began to move sliding backwards on their belly¡¯s and clambering onto their waiting wagons and droogs, Erika hurried along with them scrabbling along by her fingertips, trying to move as fast and as quietly as possible.

    Without a single word being said the expedition rallied, twisting in on itself like a coiling snake and then unfurling in a different direction, heading trunkwards rather than mistwards

    ¡°Move move move.¡± Hissed Alvis as the expedition got back under way, caravans creeks and droogs snorting in instinctive fear. Erika found herself in the rough middle of the pack and felt somewhat guilty about how grateful that made her.

    Driving them along Alvis had the expedition turn fast but move slowly, guiding them in a long slow and most importantly wide circle. Occasionally they would hear the distance sound of the linnorm breathing again in the distant, each time they did the entire party froze (even the droogs) until the sound faded away.

    Erika let out a breath she didn¡¯t realize she had been holding and slumped forwards in her wagon, after all that stress and strain? She needed a nap.

 Arc 2 Chapter 12

    ¡°So¡­ is it gold?¡±

    Erika sighed and leaned back on her haunches, first her nap had been interrupted, then her and Bjorn had been called up to the front of the convoy, now the expedition was hiding in a dip in the landscape whilst she was poking a dead body¡­ not her idea of a fun afternoon.

    She understood why Alvis was cautious but sometimes weird things did just happen, like a human corpse with a gold dagger in its back in the middle of nowhere.

    Ok that was strange Erika could admit but still, did they have to wake her up?

    ¡°The scouts have checked the area, no one hiding¡­ at least not using mundane methods.¡± He looked at her and Erika just shrugged, she couldn¡¯t use [Magic Eye] yet, that was 4<sup>th</sup> tier magic.

    ¡°So¡­ is it gold then?¡±

    Erika managed to smile at Bjorn and shook her head. ¡°Probably not, gold can¡¯t hold an edge¡­ I''m not a scholar but I¡¯ve heard of a few things you can mix into iron to make it look gold, this edge is smooth though¡­ totally smooth, like glass¡­ might be magic?¡±

    ¡°Someone made gold?¡± Bjorn was still stuck on that it seems; Erika goggled at him for a moment then shook her head. ¡°No of course not, the laws of magic cant be broken, nothing can change the Truth of something, even Helsdottir couldn¡¯t turn something into gold¡­ and it¡¯s not gold!¡±

    ¡°So, what did do this?¡± Asked Alvis expertly redirecting the topic.

    Erika huffed. ¡°Most likely is it¡¯s a totally normal dagger that¡¯s been sharpened with magic¡­ maybe a rune which rubbed off or if it¡¯s a vitki then the spell would have stopped the moment they stopped focusing on it¡­ but obviously vitki are rarer than rare, probably more likely is maybe a rune sheath? That automatically sharpened the dagger in it but over time smoothed it like a mirror. Either that or a divine art I don¡¯t know, maybe that¡¯s what made it look golden?¡±

    ¡°As for me¡­¡± Bjorn began pointing at the corpse. ¡°I¡¯d guess he was¡­ hmmm¡­ mid-thirties? Working man so probably of the Karl caste, he¡¯s got burns on his finger like a thunderarm user and his boots are damn good, double layered¡­ probably a guard? Bodyguard? Yeah bodyguard¡­ he died tired, been running for a long while, can you see these stains and this tearing? But its these tracks that are most interesting.¡±

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    As he spoke Bjorn wriggled his way across the ground in a sort of strange sideways squat. ¡°This here? These claw marks look like an ogre.¡±

    Alvis sighed and thumbed the bridge of his nose. ¡°Wonderful¡­ close enough we need to deal with it?¡±

    ¡°Nope, must have been on the move, didn¡¯t even nibble on him.¡±

    ¡°The ogre didn¡¯t kill him?¡±

    ¡°Never known an ogre to use a dagger, big clubs and rocks sure but not a dagger.¡±

    Alvis shook his head. ¡°Perfect¡­ anything you can think of that could do this?¡±

    ¡°¡­ people Alvis, literally any person, bandits, raiders, slavers who went too far, maybe a nomad tribe that fell on hard times, it¡¯s a weird knife sure but it¡¯s not been used weird, go down any ally in a city and you¡¯ll find twenty people who could do this.¡±

    Erika ignored the bickering going on around her and instead focused on sliding the knife out of the mans back, she examined the shining blade then gently laid it on the corpses chest and wrapped his hands around it. That done she dusted herself off and stood up ¡°Find joy in Valhalla or peace in Folkvangr.¡± She spoke.

    A moment passed and the three delvers walked away from the corpse. Alvis vanished into the expedition and began kicking resting delvers back into activity, Bjorn meanwhile stuck close to Erika as she found her way back to her caravan.

    ¡°Are ogres as nasty as I¡¯ve read about.¡±

    Bjorn seemed surprised she spoke at first then nodded, this time he wasn''t smiling. ¡°Yup, big rubbery things, size of a steam-engine and got that power to¡­ most dangerous though? They are fast, like so fast, an ogre can clear a half league quicker than a galloping horse, of course that means they need to be eating all the damn time.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± Muttered Erika as she pulled herself back up into her caravan, nodding to Helga on the way by.

    ¡°It¡¯s odd though, I thought they were the worst around here.¡±

    Erika turned back to Bjorn who was staring off into space hand on his chin.

    ¡°What do you mean Bjorn?¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry just thinking out loud¡­ its¡­ well¡­ the ogre didn¡¯t eat him right? They eat everything¡­. Unless they can¡¯t risk slowing down¡­ so it wasn''t just running, something was chasing it.¡±

    Erika glared at him. ¡°Do you just enjoy scaring me or something?¡±

    Bjorn broke out of his stupor and laughed. ¡°No no a thousand apologise lady vitki truly, it¡¯s nothing to worry about though I promise, only one more day before we reach out stop over point! Elkhorned, one of the living cities of the nomad tribes, hundreds live in each one and they patrol all around to keep the peace, we¡¯ll be safe there.¡±

    As Bjorn wandered off Erika glared at his back, the Wyrd might have frayed with the twilight of the gods but there was still such a thing as tempting fate.

 Arc 2 Chapter 13

    They could see the storm now.

    The great clearing was a flat land of short grass and a few scrubby weeds but the Wold ringing it cut off all sight, the huge firs rising up like mountains and casting their shadow over everything. But the storm was bigger, much bigger, in the far distance where one could normally see the mists of the realmsedge around Midgard now all that could be seen was white, a swirling twisting dancing hungering mass of white.

    Behind them Yggdrasil cast the land into branch-night, above sol glowed, but in the distance the Fimbulwinter hungered, a welcoming hunger, it opened its arms like to a lover, just waiting to bite.

    It quite overshadowed the city.

    Erika had thought living cities would be¡­ plant like? She wasn''t sure why but she assumed a living city would be like a mushroom or an oak crawling along with a city built upon it. Instead, they were a creature, some ancient masterwork of a life shaper far more skilled than Erika, great turtle like beasts with a huge flat shell, six long sloping legs ending in wide flat feet like some giant frog and finally an armoured recessed head like a beetle.

    Atop its shell were hundreds of buildings, they were¡­ odd, beautiful but odd. Erika was smart enough to recognise some inspirations from the silver kingdoms architecture but the rest was very different, no halls or heavy walls, instead they looked thin, constructed from a frame of bone around which fur and hide was hung to form walls and ceilings. Distant lights burned merrily atop the shell and illuminated a trailing lattice of wood and rope that tumbled down one of the creatures¡¯ sides.

    Plodding forwards, each step nearly shaking the land, the city beast had its plated eyes fixed on the distant horizon.

    ¡°It takes people like that yes yes.¡± Said Tathra, shading his eyes against the sun.

    Erika hadn''t yet regretted letting the Silvermane team use the top of her caravan as a lookout spot, they kept an eye out for threats to her and she napped or challenged them to games. About as fun as it got out here.

    ¡°Our bosses are going for it.¡± Noted Snorri pointing with his elbow as Sigurn and Alvis rode ahead on their personal droogs, the huge boars eating up the ground as they charged towards the city beast.

    Erika watched as Alvis and Sigurn rode alongside it for a moment, then Sigurn leapt up and onto the strange bundle of wood and rope that hung down from the lip of the shell. Erika had assumed it was maybe an elevator or something but instead it was a primitive street wide rope ladder, Sigurn climbed it fast barely touching the rungs as she flew upwards. A moment later Alvis joined her and they both vanished upwards.

    A minute passed, then two, then ten.

    Droogs shifted, delvers began to glance at each other, a few hands found hilts and handles. Why were the silvers taking so long? Hung in the air without the words ever passing lips.

    A few of the other veterans, Bjorn and Kara included Erika noticed, rode up to the ladder as well, just audible over the thump thump of the city beasts¡¯ feet. A moment later Erika felt more thant saw the others relax around her as Sigurn appeared over the lip again, a few semaphore like arm motions and the delvers had settled in at the foot of the ladder. Long thin, almost black, the ropes were tied to the caravans and the droogs were coaxed up onto the wooden platform at the end of the ropes. A few moments later the beasts were safely tethered and watching placidly as the landscape moved past them as behind the city beast trundled a fan of leashed wagons.

    Erika found herself alongside Solvor and Snorri again as she clambered up the rope, whoever designed this had obviously not intended it for vitki but instead only for divine style users, the others nearly flew along the ropes but Erika lagged behind, each hands width a mighty challenge.

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    By the time she reached the top Erika excepted everyone to have vanished, lured away into the city by the scent of mead and wine or into the arms of the nubile young men and women who tended to wait around for delvers to arrive.

    There was no dancing, there was no mead, there weren¡¯t even any nubile young women unless Erika counted herself.

    Instead, the delvers were clustered, forming a pseudo-shield wall, a battle line drawn across the lip of what had once been a well crewed embarking area, a wide semi-circle of polished shell leading into the dense buildings beyond. Now rope sat coiled and idle, the rune-lamps were dim and near burning out, from the stores and shops came the unmistakable scent of rot but above all others was the sound, or lack thereof, apart from the city beast below the air was utterly still.

    Silent.

    ¡°Where are all the damn people?¡± Erika asked stumbling forward and wheezing loudly, not as exhausted as during the battle... all that damn sprinting! But still, Erika felt she deserved a rest and a cushion.

    ¡°Our sucrose¡¯s have failed to locate any of the inhabitants.¡± Muttered Solvor as she gently lead Erika away from the edge.

    ¡°Superirors.¡± Muttered Erika but so quietly Solvor didn¡¯t hear the correction. Looking around Erika tried to focus on her well, she wa far to young to see magic yet but sometimes a stable well would ripple in the presence of great magic just like a calm pond would if a city beast walked by. But there was nothing, she cast a [See Within] telling the story to the odium in her veins and pushing it through her soul until it burst from her skin, but apart from a minor light show nothing happened. Nothing alive in the air, no unusual spores or anything. Deciding she had done all she could Erika slouched off to the side but quickly found herself being cornered by Sigurn and Alvis.

    They were trying to not be intimidating, at least she thought so, but they weren¡¯t doing a good job. Their eyes were wide, not wired, just wary and their hands never strayed from their weapons.

    ¡°What did you find?¡± Asked Sigurn in flat voice, she was still smiling but it had curdled around its edge.

    ¡°Nothing, see within found nothing organic in its radius other than me so it gave no feedback, means theirs no diseases, spores or anything like that in the air. My well isn''t rippling so nobody¡¯s throwing around high tier magick¡­ that¡¯s all I¡¯ve got.¡±

    Sigurn nodded tersely and stalked off. Erika frowned after her but Alvis half bowed to the vitki. ¡°She isn''t annoyed at your Erika, she had friends here.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Erika muttered; all annoyance extinguished as she watched Sigurn lead a small group of the veterans away into the silent city. Alvis had vanished as well but Erika saw him and the Silvermane agents on top of a building, thunderarms spread out and loaded with eyes on every approach. With a sigh Erika glanced down at herself, now she finally had a warning that something horrible was prbobably going to happen she could prepare a bit.

    ¡°Lady vitki.¡±

    Erika smiled and turned around coming face to chest with Kara who had managed to sneak up on her despite being fully armed and armoured in heavy chainmail, besides her was Gunhilda carrying her axe with an intent expression and Reidar who had both his Rumblers drawn the thunderarms gleaming with dull grey steel and death in the dim light of corroded runes.

    ¡°Sigurn said to spread out and search for survivors, I wondered if you wished to accompany us?¡± Kara continued giving Erika a winning smile.

    Erika blushed and nodded. ¡°I told you it¡¯s just Erika.¡±

    Kara looked guilty for a moment then coughed. ¡°Ah yes¡­ thank you¡­ Erika.¡±

    A moment passed then Gunhilda giggled, both women glared at her but she just giggled louder. ¡°Sorry sorry, you¡¯re just both so cute!¡±

    Kara kept glaring but Erika decided to just move on, reaching out she took hold of Karas arm (trying not to focus on the sensation) and hummed under her breath.

    [Toughen Skin] [Droog¡¯s Endurance] [Strengthen Lifeforce]

    Kara staggered slightly then her eyes widened and she took a deep breath. ¡°Aesir above it¡¯s been a long time since I felt reinforcement magick.¡±

    Erika side eyed her as she cast the same three first tier spells on Gunhilda. ¡°You¡¯ve been reinforced before.¡±

    For a second Kara looked hunted, then her poise settled again and she just nodded. ¡°As a delver you do occasionally work for vitki, rarer to work alongside one though which is one of the many reasons I bless the gods for our first meeting.¡±

    Erika blushed and kept casting as Gunhilda laughed out loud, a glare from a group nearby settled them all down though, people might be dead, this wasn''t a time for games.

    ¡°Those three spells should make your skin as tough as leather, increase your stamina hugely and finally help you resist certain attacks like Hel¡¯s divine arts¡­ certain vitki spells as well but as long as you don¡¯t annoy me that won¡¯t be needed.¡± Erika stretched and felt her back muscles clack against themselves. ¡°Oh and just a heads up, that used up like half my well so be careful guarding me.¡±

    ¡°We will.¡± Said Kara visibly determined. ¡°Ok you two guard the vitki, I¡¯ll play vanguard, keep eyes on each other, Sigurn said not to go to far so we¡¯ll just patrol a few streets away then come back.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 14

    The silence was grating, Erika followed in Kara¡¯s wake for a full branch then two, the time slipping away as Sol spun through Yggdrasil¡¯s bows. Nothing moved, nothing happened, they check within building after building but found nothing at all, no spilled food or set plates (both things Erika had excepted from the mystery novels she snuck into her mother¡¯s library) instead it looked the city had never been lived in, like a sterile set of some divine play.

    Erika and her friends had poked through a dozen houses one after the other, each one entirely empty and sterile.

    Kara had kicked in sealed doors and found nothing, Reidar had scaled up to the rooftops and seen nothing, Erika had tramped along behind them with Gunhilda growing more and more concerned as the silent city stretched on around them.

    A branch of time later their group had massively increased in size, the smaller squads of the expedition had gradually congealed together linking up into an undulating mass of paranoid delvers, even the damn alchemist had joined but for once Erika and her weren¡¯t sniping at each other, the city was to¡­ weird for that. After a few more minutes had passed their huddled mass had joined up with another and another until the entire expedition was once more reassembled, Sigurn looked angry, Alvis looked alarmed, Erika felt tired and the delvers once again formed their pseudo shield wall defence, huddled in a bow shaped line along the edge of the city beast, their backs to the drop.

    ¡°Anybody found anything?¡± Asked Sigurn, she wasn''t smiling for once, instead she was scowling her teeth bared in barely contained fury, like¡­ well like a bear.

    ¡°Nothing, nothing at all! Something killed this city¡­ monsters¡­ lokispawn¡­ ashen!¡± Asked Ammeris fingering the bombs on her sash obsessively. ¡°And are they still here? Lurking, hiding, spying! Sigurn, should I start counter-attacking them? I¡¯ve got a few gases which shut the lungs down and make you¡­¡±

    ¡°No Ammeris it¡¯s fine,¡± Alvis said soothing the paranoid alchemist. ¡°We¡¯ve thoroughly checked for poison to traps or hidden enemies, none of our divine arts can find anything nor can our professional trap-smiths and crypt-breakers¡­ We can only assume there are none in the city.¡±

    ¡°Something has to have killed them!¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know they¡¯re dead¡­¡±

    ¡°Tell that to the corpse we found!¡±

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    ¡°But if they are all dead why only one corpse? And if everyone else vanished, why was he just stabbed?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it was a Woldbeast? Or a lokispawn? I¡¯ve always heard about things like giant wolves that move only through dreams or living trees that eat brains and get your memories or like¡­ like giant flies that eat people and are invisible!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the hubbub ended and the group looked at Alvis who stood over the group like some giant vulture leering down upon its next feast. ¡°What matters is if it is safe and so far everything, we have found says it is, what also matters is if we need it¡­ and we do. Our pursuers have prevented us from resupplying and our stocks were always rationed in accordance with stopping at a nomad city.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t except us to stay here?¡± Yelled Skarda from the crowd.

    ¡°I have to agree, that¡¯s seems¡­ suicidal.¡± Said Helga backing up a half step.

    Alvis didn¡¯t seem offended, just resigned. ¡°It does carry obvious risks, but perhaps they went to war? Perhaps it was a plague that has ended now? Perhaps the citybeast just left of its own accord? I know none of these are likely but we have checked, the food, the water, the air, every basement and rooftop and passageway, I even used my divine arts to walk down the shell and look at the underbelly so make sure nobody was hanging on¡­ there are no enemies here we can find and we need the supplies.¡±

    ¡°Rather than staying a few days like we intended we will instead only stay the night, loot today, loot tomorrow and gone by the evening,¡± Sigurn had taken up the explanation, glaring at anyone who looked like they might object. ¡°I don¡¯t want to scrapple through the houses of my dead friends either you know? But this is the only chance we have, unless any of you want to turn back and run right into our pursuers?¡±

    That seemed to settle it, the generally air of caution and worry began to bleed way, replaced by a sense of excitement, I mean the palace looked safe right? Even the vitki said it was? And if they were looking for supplies anyway¡­ didn¡¯t that mean they could pocket a little extra?

    ¡°All groups will be assigned strict search quotas and areas of interest and will be led by a Silvermane agent.¡± Said Alvis smoothly dulling the mercenary glint in the delvers eyes before it could even manifest fully.

    Erika turned around and nodded at Kara and Gunhilda, a moment later the group of four headed off back the way they had come, Erika made sure to nod to Alvis who gave her a professional bob in return¡­ as a vitki Erika technically wasn''t under his command, part of the deal you excepted when hiring someone who could bend the world to her will was that they didn¡¯t bend in turn, not without a lot of money. Speaking of a lot of money, that¡¯s what Erika intended to get!

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Asked Kara, Erika noticed she¡¯d put her hammer back at her hip but hadn''t slung her shield onto her back, still ready for trouble.

    Reidar was the one who answered with a twinkle in his eye. ¡°We are most bless by Baldr today aren¡¯t we lady vitki? As her subordinates we are allowed to appreciate the beauty of this city¡­. And take a little bit with us.¡±

    Erika grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Right you are, everyone? Let¡¯s get looting.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 15

    ¡°Any idea what this says Erika?¡±

    It was a half-branch later and Erika had already struck gold¡­ literally!  She hadn''t really known this about herself, perhaps thanks to a lack of opportunity? But Erika found she loved loot, bounding from house to house with a bulging sack she cackled like some dreadful little loot gremlin as she stuffed jewels and treasures, weapons and keepsakes, art and artifacts, into the depths of her bag.

    The others were more restrained, Kara was still leading and seemed to have stuck to grabbing any coinage she could find, Reidar had gathered a rather fine necklace of huge pearls which he now wore, Gunhilda was grabbing runes and nothing much else, she seemed the least keen on the looting but that hadn''t stopped her finding the plate.

    It was about the size of¡­ well¡­ a dinner plate to be honest. A dark green grey metal about as thick as a door with a handful of strange characters engraved on the surface.

    ¡°I thought they were runes.¡± She said offhandedly as she dumped the plate in Erika¡¯s hands. Erika staggered under the weight and tried not to collapse shooting the oblivious Gunhilda a glare as she rested the metal rim on the edge of a crate, that damn Gothi had the muscles of a troll Erika swore.

    Squinting at them and trying to remember her lessons Erika let the plate fall onto the ground. ¡°It¡¯s just the city¡¯s name, Elkhorned¡­ like the city beast, both have the same name.¡±

    ¡°The citybeast has horns?¡± Asked Reidar over the sound of him kicking a cupboard in around the lock. ¡°I didn¡¯t see them?¡±

    ¡°How do you think the city stays on? The horns are wound around the shell and form the edge of the city, when you get back look at it properly and you¡¯ll notice.¡± Erika said this all rather smugly but she felt she had earned it; this was life shaper stuff after all.

    ¡°How can you read this?¡± asked Gunhilda seemingly genuinely shocked¡­ After a moment Erika realised it was probably because she was a Gothi, they had such a deep connection to the runes that a non-runic language probably seemed impossible.

    ¡°My mother taught me clear cant, the nomad¡¯s language, I''m pretty sure it¡¯s a derivative of alven maybe from when the Alf empire invaded. Anyway, it uses symbols like the runes we use but these are called hieroglyphs, the little symbols are whole words not word components.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the one that looks like a man on the toilet?¡± Asked Reidar.

    Erika sighed but knew the one he was talking about. ¡°It¡¯s a man catching a fish¡­ between his legs¡­ anyway it means conceptually the idea of movement or momentum, they don¡¯t have a hieroglyph for elf so instead they use basically the words Powerful Forest King as a compound word, its actually quite fascinating but totally worthless.¡±

    ¡°You sure? Isn''t it like¡­ unique?¡±

    Erika shook her head slowly. ¡°I think there¡¯s one in all the leadership buildings?... maybe¡­ actually just drop it anyway¡­ its way too heavy to haul around.¡±

    ¡°It is?¡± Asked Gunhilda, she seemed¡­ guilty? For a moment.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve got muscles like a damn troll.¡± Said Reidar walking up to the pair as Erika shoved the heavy metal plaque off the table and onto the floor.

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    Gunhilda smiled at that. ¡°Yeah yeah, I made sure to drink my milk as a kid! Now I¡¯ve got the strength of an ox!¡±

    ¡°And the brains of one to.¡± Said Reidar smoothly, Gunhilda threw a cup at him.

    ¡°Speaking of big beasts,¡± Kara said, smoothly stepping between Reidar and Erika. ¡°The citybeast? What IS it?¡±

    Erika paused for a moment as she grabbed a shiny looking rock off a set of bone shelves, tossing it aside as worthless she smiled shyly at Kara. ¡°Ah, you¡¯ll set me off again at this rate.¡±

    Kara laughed, she had a pleasant laugh, light and sweet like mead. ¡°I¡¯m fine with that, I like hearing you talk.¡±

    Erika tried not to blush as she set her sack down on the floor and emptied a draw of loose coins into it. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know much, no vitki secrets sorry and obviously I couldn¡¯t tell you them if I knew them. But I do know that the citybeasts of the great clearing were made from Woldbeasts eons ago, back when Yggdrasil was still wet from the waters that washed away the old world. One of the first life shapers lived in the clearing¡­ or the Wold, the story¡¯s conflict, anyway she saw the danger for her people, camping next to the Wold was just tempting the creatures within so she made the citybeasts.¡±

    As she spoke Erika grabbed her bag and strolled away, calling back over her shoulder, there were still a handful of buildings she wanted to clear before they stopped for the day.

    ¡°Designed specifically for this purpose, big enough to carry a city making it a moving threat not a stationery target and scaring away the Woldbeasts with their sheer size. Of course, the citybeasts don¡¯t ever fight despite how big they are! They¡¯re only as smart as moss despite being animals only able to followed the edge of the Wold and put their feet before the others nothing more, can¡¯t feel pain, can¡¯t feel fear, can¡¯t be bored, perfect right?¡±

    Erika gestured downwards a few times for emphasise as she chatted then she activated [Graft: Warg] with a thought, she felt her well twinge slightly as it emptied so much but there it was, a faint scent, like¡­ saffron? It hung in the air so vague she¡¯d barely noticed but the nose of a Warg could catch it. Not showing any reaction to the discovery she trotted forwards her mouth on auto-pilot, following the pale trail that almost hung in the air.

    ¡°They are nearly unkillable, citybeasts don¡¯t age, sicken, weaken, need no air or food and very few things can harm them even intentionally,¡± Erika noticed she was lisping slightly, the Warg teeth on her new muzzle messing with her human throat structure. ¡°A few of the stormers that Silvermane¡¯s company make to fight Jotun might scratch one but not much else. Even if you do manage to kill one, they have a kind of pearl inside them that re-makes their bodies after an hour or so and nobody¡¯s ever managed to even dent a pearl, so there are only twelve city beats but there will probably always be twelve.¡±

    The scent was getting closer, Erika tried to keep the excitement hidden as she hurried along, Kara to her left and Gunhilda somewhere behind her, Reidar was pacing along on her right and would get a good view¡­ of what Erika didn¡¯t know, the scent might be new or it might be old Erika only had the nose, not the brain, of a warg so she had none of the instincts or drives but whatever it was it was right behind the¡­

    ¡°HEY GUYS!¡±

    Erika leapt backwards like a startled cat, to panicked even to form a spell. Behind her Kara managed to smoothly draw her hammer but fumbled her shield which bounced off the wall, and somewhere in the mass of tent like buildings behind them one of the other two face planted.  Above them Skarda was waving from the second story of a more substantial hall of bone and fur, more bone that fur Erika noticed idly as her heart races, richer side of town?

    ¡°Damn it Skard you nearly gave me a heart attack!¡± Erika snarled, properly snarled at that with her warg face.

    Skarda noticed and flinched back but he seemed to calm down when Erika dismissed her Graft. ¡°Sorry lady vitki but I¡¯ve got good news, me and my brother found a place to camp out tonight, Sigurn and Alvis looked around it and said its good so we got sent out to grab everyone, Sigurn said she wanted camp set up three leaves from now.¡±

    Kara sighed and grab her shield off the floor. ¡°Where? And are you sure its secure enough? We are being chased and something happened her, we may not know what but something did.¡±

    ¡°Its about three streets that way,¡± said Skarda pointing left. ¡°And it¡¯s definitely safe.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Skarda grinned like a droog in muck. ¡°It¡¯s a bank.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 16

    Erika stared at her dilapidated brown leather tent for a moment, it was held by strings instead of pegs which she¡¯d read delvers used for tents but it was hard to drive a peg into stone¡­ regardless it was put up properly this time! Well, she¡¯d been sure the last three times as well but now it hadn''t fallen over a full ten beats after she let go of the strings so Erika decided that could only mean this was a glorious victory¡­ and she should leave quickly before she saw something that would upset her. Padding away from her tent on slippered feet Erika went to check on her friends¡­. It wasn''t presumptuous to call them that right? They were friends by now surely, she¡¯d saved their lives after all.

    Walking through a dead bank was a surreal experience, Erika never been in a bank before, even in the silver kingdom only the capitol and a few of the bigger cities had them. Maybe a few boom-towns out on the fringe that sprung up when the digging crews that lay the rails of the Bal-Vegr struck a seam of gold or something. She¡¯d heard of them though, places of opulence and order, you could still see that here as well, just distorted by¡­ weeks? Months?... of abandonment and isolation, a faint layer of dust on the desks, a chair moved left by a hand and a half, abandoned papers and withered plants. It wasn''t spooky per say but it did feel weird, too big and the echoes lingered for too long.

    The expeditionaries had ended up setting up their camp in the banks vault, Sigurn had insisted on it, it seemed she was expecting (maybe even looking forward) to an attack tonight, Alvis didn¡¯t seem to agree but didn¡¯t see the harm in being defensive.

    As a result, dozens of tents had been unloaded from the huge backpacks the Silvermane agents carried and slung across the vault itself, rows of lockboxes in the walls had been broken open and used to moor the ends of strings and leather strips, after they were first looted of course.

    Erika grinned to herself and patted one of the secret(ish) pockets in her cloak of office, which jingled pleasingly. She¡¯d traded all the big stuff for cheap to Skarda, who hadn''t believed his luck. Erika however hadn''t believed hers; the idiot took nearly half value for stuff he¡¯d need to drag across nearly a thousand Stade without breaking it or leaving it behind. Now Erika had a pocket full of traded loot (and actually looted loot) gold rings, a few actual jewels, nearly a handsbreadth of hacksilver and a few weights of silk she¡¯d found in a merchant¡¯s floor safe. Her cloak was heavier now she admitted but it was heavy with promise and money, primarily money, all told it was worth a few pennygar¡­ she might actually make a profit from this even after repaying mother.

    There was very little in the vaults though Erika had noticed, barely anything, no stacks of silver and gold or piles of jewels like she¡¯d been told. The wall boxes had held what treasures the residents had owned but the actual vault had been empty, now that she thought about it Erika found herself wondering how much of the neglect of the building was from before the people disappeared, it didn¡¯t seem they were doing well.

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    Climbing down the last few steps Erika stumbled out into the light, blinking as her eyes adjusted, the bank was one of only a half dozen stone buildings on the citybeasts back, the others with their bone frames and leather walls seemed so fragile next to it. Thick marble blocks formed towering walls and columns that grew almost organically into a dome that rose above the city at the top of which was the vault protruding upwards like a horn. It honestly made sense now Erika thought about it, if people can see it, you can¡¯t steal from it and it¡¯s not like the citybeast can have a basement carved into its shell.

    ¡°That¡¯s blasphemy AND bad luck!¡±

    Erika looked up as the shout rang out through the bank¡¯s foyer.  Turning around Erika saw Helga was haranguing Skarda and Skard, the brothers had refused to leave with only Erika¡¯s traded loot, they¡¯d arrived last after retrieving all the other little teams and the bank had been nearly fully looted by then, so rather than do the sensible thing of barter and gamble, or just accepting their losses, they¡¯d gone of the only valuable nobody else had been willing to touch.

    ¡°So, you and everyone else has said Helga but it¡¯s not like Odin ¡¯ll notice it and I¡¯ve got debts to pay.¡± Said Skarda where he hangs, bound by rope and chisel in hand, from the shoulders of a statue of Odin all-father, the great-clearing nomads were apparently on of the cultures that refused to take down the statues and shrines of the gods that died in Ragnar?k and Skarda wasn''t, that¡¯s why he and his brother were currently working the huge sapphire that filled in for Odin¡¯s singular eye out of the statues face.

    Helga turned to Erika, her scowl quickly morphing into a smile. ¡°Oh Erika, are you finished?¡±

    Erika smiled back and nodded. ¡°Yup, got my tent up and finished looting¡­ Skarda still going?¡±

    Helga frowned. ¡°Yes, he is¡­ it¡¯s a statue of a god! Can¡¯t you tell him to knock it off? He¡¯d listen to a vitki right?¡±

    Erika shrugged. ¡°No.¡±

    Helga raised an eyebrow. ¡°¡­Why not?¡±

    Erika shrugged a second time. ¡°If I tell him not to, he might ask for some of my treasure in exchange, it¡¯s my treasure.¡±

    Helga seemed taken aback. ¡°But¡­ but he might get cursed!¡±

    Erika nodded happily. ¡°Yup¡­ but that sounds like a him problem, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Helga looked at Erika oddly, Erika wasn''t sure what the expression was but she didn¡¯t stop to understand it and instead walked up to the statue.

    ¡°You guys done yet?¡±

    Skard looked around jerkily at Erika then up at his brother. ¡°Not yet¡­ should we be doing this Shard¡­I don¡¯t know¡­ I mean¡­ what if he curses us!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead, now shut up and pass me that chisel.¡± Snapped Skarda grunting slightly half way through as he kept yanking on the deeply embedded gem with a pair of pliers.

    ¡°You do realise you are stealing a relic of a god, right? The all-seeing one, even if he¡¯s dead wont his kids or grandkids be angry?¡± asked Helga who seemed to have overcome whatever happened, Erika still wasn''t sure. ¡°You aren¡¯t even slightly worried?¡±

    ¡°I told you this was a bad idea!¡± Whined Skard, Skarda threw a lump of stone at him and turned to look at Helga. ¡°No, I am not Helga, I don¡¯t care, the Gothi don¡¯t care, the vitki doesn¡¯t care, its just a jewel in the statue of a dead guy.¡±

    ¡°Told you.¡± Shrugged Erika turning around and stalked away to join the much more active portions of the expedition.

 Arc 2 Chapter 17

    They were huddled around the base of the staircase that let upwards into the vault of the building. This bank had two sets of doors, an outer pair made from wood which was flimsy and then an inner pair up the tope of the stairs, the vaults doors. Both heavy iron with a huge rune drawn... carved? into their surfaces. Luckily it had been left open when whatever happened... happened to this city but now they couldn''t close the damn things and Sigurn had refused to set up camp overnight if they didn¡¯t manage to get the doors closed., as most of the delvers set up camp inside the towering vault the rest had formed a war council and sent out search partiers seeking the most important treaure of all, the damn keys.

    As Erika approached the group, she saw a few seconds of gesture filled conversation then Bjorn squared up with the doors, rolled his shoulders and threw himself at them. A few seconds later Bjorn was lying on the floor and the doors were somehow radiating aura of inanimate smugness.

    ¡°¡­wouldn¡¯t work, try a bomb next!¡±

    ¡°You want to take out the whole wall?!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we try getting a really long rope and getting the citybeast¡­¡±

    ¡°Look I¡¯m just saying maybe if he tried again and really put his back into it¡­¡±

    ¡°I believe we should redouble our search for the key,¡± said Alvis, he was stood at the back looking around (and even up) searchingly. ¡°When¡­ whatever happened did, they must have left it behind, everything else was.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all runes though, yes?¡± observed Tathra tapping the door with a knuckle. ¡°I am no Gothi of course but can¡¯t runes be set to respond to only immaterial things, like a word or a gesture or a single person?¡±

    Erika arrived at the back of the crowd with Helga who walked up to her cousin who was staring at the doors like they owed her money, Erika meanwhile found herself stood next to the damn alchemist Ammeris and the expeditions only alf Katlin, Erika wasn''t usually sure but she recognised the jewellery the alf wore as a Gothi of Baldur¡¯s.

    As the rest of the expedition glared at the door and bickered Erika elbowed both women and, when they looked at her, nodded at the doors. ¡°Ok, we¡¯re this lots magick advisors, so have either of you got something for this?¡±

    ¡°Have you got anything in your little bag of tricks?¡± Ammeris asked, apparently now there was no active danger they were back to this, Erika didn¡¯t mind, the damn alchemist needed to know where she stood.

    ¡°So, you don¡¯t have anything in your little bottles then? I¡¯ve got a few ideas but I¡¯d risk our group¡­ Odium is just so powerful ¡­ of course you wouldn¡¯t know.¡±

    Ammeris harrumphed and sputtered Katlin grinned at the two of them, for a moment Erika wasn''t sure what to do¡­ her teeth were gems? Or like slivers of coloured glass? Something between the two maybe. Gleaming fangs both purple and clear filled her mouth¡­ which went back a lot further than a human, in fact, doing a few mental calculations Erika was sure the roof of the alf¡¯s mouth extended further back than her head did.

    Magick races Erika thought sulkily as Katlin finished grinning at their display. ¡°Yes yes I think I do, not something reproducible by you, I can ask the Aesir to modify the runes directly¡­ possible backlash¡­ don¡¯t want¡­ you will need to stay near me ready to heal me!¡±

    Erika had gotten use to Katlin paranoia at this point and agreed without issue, more than likely she wouldn¡¯t be needed¡­. But if she was, she¡¯d get a chance to look inside an Alf! That would be interesting.

    ¡°Do we need to do this?¡± Asked Ammeris.

    ¡°Nearly everyone is too tired to miss out on anymore sleep, we¡¯ve been running basically since the ambush, besides this place is creepy.¡± Erika replied look to Katlin for support.

    The Alf nodded. ¡°Hate it, dangerous, creeping, sneaking! Proper door, proper traps, proper watch. All things we need.¡±

    Ammeris sighed but nodded. ¡°In that case I¡¯ve got a few vials of Liquid Odium in case you or the vitki need it.¡±

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    Erika stared. ¡°You do?!¡±

    Sigurn having a vial was understandable, she was a silver, but how could an alchemist afford one? Erika couldn¡¯t afford one!

    Ammeris clicked her tongue. ¡°Yes yes I do, move on ok! I''m not talking about it so just¡­ get going with your thing.¡±

    Erika wanted to prod but she also didn¡¯t want to break their tenuous peace, in the end she just shrugged and followed Katlin. The alf barged the bickering humans aside without a care and interrupting the argument which had gotten pretty¡­ heated from what Erika could tell.

    ¡°Look all we need to do is collapse the front of the building! Guaranteed safety and we can just dig ourselves out.¡± Said Bjorn

    Snorri scowled up at him his face tinted red with anger. ¡°That will kill us all you lummox! Did you lose your wits along with your hand!¡±

    Sigurn calmy reached out and grabbed the handle of Bjorn¡¯s axe before violence could be done, Alvis for his part smacked his subordinate around the back of the head and shot him such a withering look that he stumbled back like a deflating balloon. Both the Silvers easily made room for Katlin, unaspiringly they were the only people the alf didn¡¯t try to shoulder out of her way. Even the arrogance of the alf had limits apparently.

    ¡°Got an idea.¡± She muttered as she slumped down and began trailing her long arms along the door. ¡°Vitki will keep me safe if they trapped it¡­ Only made by a normal Gothi and only normal iron, which means it can only have two runes¡­ big runes but still only two¡­ grand Gothi can make three, steel can have three¡­ good steel at least¡­ this is pig iron and a nobody¡­ only two runes¡­ I can work it.¡±

    Erika shrugged helplessly at the crowd as Katlin undid a tight bag of tools from her belt and began to gently chip away at the runes? Erika had thought they were thousands of runes before but after what Katlin said, they must be hidden in the engraving on the door? Or just big, like big in size, covering the whole surface. The patterns that had obviously been cast into the iron door when it was still molten didn¡¯t shift easily or quickly but Katlin didn¡¯t care, nor did she seem to tire, instead she sat there hunched over and unmoving except for her forearms and fingers which swung tiny little hammers and picks, chip chip chipping away at the metal, shaping it with a thousand tiny blows.

    Erika got bored before the first ten minutes had passed and by the first hour, she was staring up into space lost to the world as her brain seemed to boil from boredom.

    chip chip

    She¡¯d initially kept a hand on the alf¡¯s shoulder, just in case, but now it hung down at her side as she stared at nothing

    Chip chip chip

    Was this what Nastrond was like?

    ¡°Done.¡±

    Erika jumped, then tried to make it look like she hadn''t, as Katlin scrambled backwards from the now glowing door. All across its surface tiny runes were lighting up with pure white light fading to blue at the edges, crawling upwards the radiance enveloped the iron door and without even a whisper, swinging them shut.

    Erika stared in awe. As a vitki she would never be able to use the runes, that was one of the laws of magic just like how it was impossible to use magic on Yggdrasil itself or to change the nature of an unliving thing or, specifically, how it was impossible to make a spell without a mind. Magick needed mind, a vitki could use spells that did anything, but they only did something when the vitki¡¯s mind was focused.

    A rune was the opposite of that, the impossible power of the gods, a spell in a structure that would keep working thousands of years after its creator died and certainly after they stopped paying it any attention. They were only limited by the strength of themselves and the material, but apart from that¡­ no odium, no spells, they learned it all in trances when they prayed to the Aesir¡­ Sometimes Erika felt very small.

    Then Katlin stumbled off muttering about possible booby-traps, the alchemist started gloating and Erika instead felt very angry.

    But that was that, the door was opened to let them in then shut a final time, Sigurn took up watch at the doorway head tracking left to right every few seconds. Alvis vanished off amongst the rest of the delvers, shifts were assigned, watches set, traps laid.

    With nothing else to do Erika walked back along the vault floor, laid down on her bedroll and tried to get some sleep.

    *scritch scritch scritch*

    Erika opened her eyes, above her the roof quivered in the scalding breeze.

    *scritch scritch scritch*

    Erika looked across at the jackal she had been having tea with, he tipped his top hat at her but said nothing.

    ¡°Was that you?¡±

    The jackal shook his head. ¡°Not even slightly ma¡¯am not even slightly, I am after all made from cloud.¡±

    As the jackal dissolved into vapour Erika stood up from the table and looked around at the buildings, ignoring the way they jigged and spun she still couldn¡¯t see it...

    *scritch scritch scritch*

    Flying across the city Erika found herself stood before a heavy door, behind it was the scratching, she knew that for some reason. With an effort of will she took hold of the handle and pulled. Opening the door was like trying to drag a wall through syrup, after what felt like a month of straining it slammed back revealing a dingy little cupboard in which sat giant human hand, just the hand nothing else, gently almost politely scratching at the bricks.

    ¡°Do you mind?¡± Asked Erika testily.

    The hand seemed to start and attempted to bow to her but even when it stopped scratching the sound continued, echoing all around her.

    Erika realised what it was.

    ¡°This is a dream and that¡¯s a real sound, isn''t it?¡± She asked the hand.

    The hand nodded¡­somehow.

    ¡°Bugger.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 18

    Erika opened her eyes, above her the brown rough leather of the tent rustled, all around her she could heard the snores of her comrades and in the distance the scratching. It was so faint, so far away, that she should barely have noticed it but¡­ but something in her gut told her that it wasn''t a good noise.

    *scritch scritch scritch*

    Raising herself up onto her elbows she concentrated, the noise seemed to come from everywhere at once¡­ ah but she could deal with this!

    Grinning in the dark Erika activated [Graft: Warg] and listened carefully, it was so strange to hear like this but Erika¡¯s magick let her process the new information, a moment later she had homed in and found the noise was¡­ above her? Yes, above her which meant it was coming from the roof of the vault?

    * scritch scritch scritch*

    Erika pulled her robe of office on, stroked her hair straight absentmindedly and prowled out of her tent. Outside it was¡­ dark, not even the faintest glow of Sol¡¯s light could be seen around the edges of Yggdrasil¡¯s trunk, the moon hung in the inky black sky and the dark city sat below it, stars glimmered above her which Erika could only just see behind the clouds, all this she could see through the tiny slitted and barred windows. There was no other light¡­ shouldn¡¯t there be?

    Erika came to a stop in the darkness, did the people on watch have torches or anything? No, they couldn¡¯t right¡­ people couldn¡¯t sleep if they did?

    * scritch scritch scritch*

    Erika nodded to herself and took a deep breathe to calm herself before scurrying forwards like a mouse, skittering past the rows of tents Erika smiled as she recognised Katlin¡¯s (a palace of lacquer and leather covered in armour plates) then Bjorn¡¯s (a roughhewn wooden box with a pillow) and finally Alvis¡¯s (A cocoon shape of silk and bone), exiting the field of tents Erika stood in what had once be a sort of vault waiting room, expanding outwards from the stairs and the gleaming vault door. Erika could still taste the Odium in the air so the runes were still working¡­ the stairs didn¡¯t go up either.

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    * scritch scritch scritch*

    What was that damn noise? Erika shook her head, her warg ears fixed on the roof as she stumbled along the floor. She needed to get to the roof, she needed to¡­

    Erika stopped dead.

    ¡°Why?¡± She muttered in the silence, the musty dustiness of a dead city. They had stayed because they had to, they¡¯d chosen the vault since it was¡­ it was the obvious choice.

    They¡¯d checked though, for traps and¡­ they¡¯d closed the door¡­

    The door without a key.

    They couldn¡¯t find the key.

    * scritch scritch scritch*

    Erika didn¡¯t think, she knew she wasn''t particularly smart or wise or kind or anything like that, but Erika trusted her intuition more than anything.

    She only knew two cross pillar spells, the first was the Gorebeast and the second¡­

    ¡°Magick rises like a flood

    I cast you down into the mud

    Unleashed by my hand [Burning Blood]¡±

    It burned her core, sucked dry her well, caused pain to shoot like coloured coldness along her arms but Erika managed it, a third circle equivalent spell, a ball of burning blood the size of a droog¡­ which she threw upwards.

    Half collapsing half crouching Erika covered herself in her cape of office as the explosion echoed throughout the bank. In the tents to her left Erika heard sudden shouts, oaths, curses and screams, but above her.

    Something thumped down next to Erika, then another, then three more. Erika peeked out from under her cloak and saw¡­ something. A twisted caricature of a person, half insect half man, that why the sound had been wrong, why she¡¯d needed to graft just to trace it, the sound wasn''t coming from outside, they were already inside the vault, climbing on the damn roof!

 Arc 2 Chapter 19

    Alvis was the first to react, of course.

    A ripple of sound seemed to hammer into Erika¡¯s ear as he smoothly drew a pair of Thunderers from his breaches, firing them again and again, puncturing head after head.

    Erika, her form human again as her well drained dry, didn¡¯t feel the slightest twist of odium in the air meaning this wasn''t a divine art just pure skill as he reaped the twisted creatures even as they burned.

    ¡°Form up!¡± He howled the sound echoing from the stone. ¡°SHIELDWALL!¡±

    Tents exploded, some actually ripped apart as they occupations rushed to obey, stone and steel met as boots thumped and axes clattered. Alvis kept firing, screaming directions and commands, as the delvers formed up, cutting the vault in half with their bodies. Erika had been skilfully scooped up and deposited inside the line. Alvis nodded at her as she stumbled past but otherwise kept shouting, more of the things were falling from the ceiling and¡­ and running up from the door, which was hanging open and entirely undamaged.

    ¡°That wasn''t you was it?¡± Erika asked Katlin as she stumbled into her shadow. Kara had appeared at some point and Erika had thrown an arm around her neck, too tired to even feel embarrassed at the closeness as she put all her weight on the stronger woman¡¯s back.

    Katlin shook her head jerkily, reloading her crossbow as she did. ¡°No no NO, I did it perfectly! Didn¡¯t even leave a gap in the defences¡­ how!¡±

    ¡°We couldn¡¯t find the key.¡± Spat Erika slumping against Kara even more. ¡°They could.¡±

    Katlin froze, then snarled and tapped a handful of runes hanging from talismans around her neck. Her next shot carried with it a wall of force that seemed to expand from the bolt and swept across the floor like a tidal wave pushing monsters, tents, stone and torches alike into a twisted pile of wreckage against the far wall.

    Alvis took the development in stride. ¡°The Gothi cleared us some room, you and you move up, your three bunch together, both flanks angle back¡­ Erika can you take out the wall.¡±

    Erika froze for a moment not sure she¡¯d heard right, after a moment and a gesture from Alvis she saw he was actually serious. ¡°The huge thick stone walls? No no not at all, I drowned my well killing those first ones.¡±

    ¡°By Hels Hate,¡± Swore Alvis before turning around. ¡°Ammeris, can you?¡±

    Ammeris didn¡¯t even look smug, just scared and tired. ¡°Yeah yeah I can, got a few pastes that turn into heat when you mix them, lots of heat. I can melt out¡­¡±

    ¡°Do it,¡± Alvis said. ¡°They¡¯re waiting for us out the front door, we¡¯re taking a different exit¡­ were is Sigurn?¡±

    A heartbeat went past, then another, a few of the flanks looked around then someone gasped.

    ¡°By the gods!¡± It was Bjorn looking over the counter that had once served to do admissions into the vault by the looks of it. Turning away with a pale face the veteran ranger gestured behind himself and gagged.

    Alvis ran over, looked across the counter and then nodded. A second later he reached over and pulled Sigurn out, hauling her up and over the stone slab and letting her flop onto the floor¡­ she was covered in blood.

    ¡°What¡­ what¡­ but she¡¯s a silver!¡± Erika managed to gasp.

    Alvis heard her. ¡°We¡¯re still human.¡± He said simply examining her, from where Erika stood, she could see the wound, a huge laceration across Sigurn¡¯s throat long enough to reach from ear to ear¡­ but it was shallow? Very shallow.

    Alvis sighed again. ¡°She hates when people find out.¡± He muttered so quietly that only Erika could hear, a second later her drew a bottle from a pouch and cracked it open below the corpses nose.

    Which sat up and swore.

    A few people screamed, more jumped or swore and one who was currently wrestling with a insect-person monster apparently deciding he liked the monster better and shoulder charged away with it across the room.

    ¡°What happened.¡± Growled Sigurn, her smile absent for once and her voice a deep rough grumble.

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    ¡°They poisoned or ensorcelled you, rest of the guards as well. Slit your throats and stashed you, would have done us in as well but the vitki woke up.¡±

    Sigurn snarled, like a real bear, a rumble roar deep in her chest. ¡°The others?¡±

    Alvis shook his head but said nothing, Sigurn snarled again, even louder and leapt to her feet. The wound on her throat had healed itself almost completely¡­ almost¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s why you have an odium potion!¡± Shouted Erika, then she cringed back when people turned to stare. ¡°Ah¡­ sorry.¡±

    Sigurn didn¡¯t seem to mind, or notice, instead she grabbed her weapons and hurled herself into the insect-things. Twisted flesh and blighted carapace soon spiralled upwards into the air as Sigurn stood before the stairs, like a champion of old, holding the line alone.

    The delvers cheered and charged, the shield wall moving, driving the monsters back. A second later light and heat surged as the back wall began to bubble and run. Those already injured began to form up near the hole as Ammeris scampered to-and-fro hurling options at them, the enemies and the wall all equally.

    Erika for her part was still somewhat reeling from the revelation of Sigurn¡¯s power, who¡¯d have thought she¡¯d meet a Chosen?

    Despite the fancy name (the full name is Chosen of the Bringers of the Dawn) it basically just meant that one of the gods really liked Sigurn, probably the same one she worshiped to gain her divine style so Magni. They gained special powers based on the strengths of their gods, just like each of the 9 levels of a divine style had exactly 3 divine arts within it (and always the same 3 for each god), a chosen always had 3 powers. The 2 were something thematic like¡­ for magni something lightning based probably¡­ but the third was always health, a Chosen was incredibly hard to kill thanks to their regeneration, as fast as a trolls without all the cursed stone being needed. However, they did drain odium just like a vitki did, filling a sort of fake well that their Aesir granted them which only cast on spell, but it was a damn good one. Erika vaguely estimated that level of self-regeneration to be on par with a fifth-tier spell but with the obvious benefit of it triggering automatically.

    Erika felt somewhat small as she saw a warrior using a spell that any flesh shaper would love to use whilst spinning an axe the size of a small droog around her head like a child¡¯s wooden sword.

    Ignoring the pointless feeling Erika dashed back up the room, boots skidding across the expensive stone tiles. The injured were already being moved out of the glowing edged hole in the wall and Erika knew she couldn¡¯t be any more help than them, this was the second time she¡¯d Drowned her well in as many months, she¡¯d never done it once in her life before! These delvers were a bad influence.

    Stumbling around a tent Erika saw people being passed hand to hand out of the hole, Ammeris was throwing something at the molten stone that set it hard and cold¡­ Kara was waiting, Erika saw her face light up as they half-collided.

    The constant rumble of thunderarms echoing from the stone made conversation impossible but Erika nodded at Kara who swept her up and carried her bodily through the hole, there was a time for pride and it wasn''t now. More and more followed them, pushed back but retreating in good order, delvers wit bows, then spears, then the shieldwall walking backwards in lock step¡­ finally Alvis leapt from the hole followed by Sigurn and Ammeris.

    Erika saw something small and shiny fall from Ammeris¡¯s hand as she fell, clattering away across the bank vault.

    *CRISSSSH*

    Erika had never heard a noise like it, a sort of scraping groaning, growing, growl that echoed all across the moving city as a wall of ice filled the hole again, catching a half dozen of the insect-people things in its deadly embrace as it flowed up and down the wall evenly, smothering and covering.

    Erika gave it a 7 out of 10, not a real spell but even she could admit it did the job and was¡­ reasonably¡­ impressive.

    Ok very impressive.

    ¡°Very impressive.¡±

    The voice practically slithered into Erika¡¯s ear, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere, echoing through the moving city in time with the citybeasts distant footfalls.

    Alvis shot at it.

    The voice said ¡°ow¡± as Alvis unloaded another thunderarm somewhere over Erika¡¯s head, she couldn¡¯t see what was happening but she didn¡¯t much need to. She could feel it in the air, the odium, moving.

    ¡°Vitki.¡± Erika gasped as behind her a figure rose from the rooftop, flesh and bone twirling and merging and sewing back together.

    ¡°Rude.¡± Said the vitki, her head already fully reformed, as fast as Sigurn¡­ faster, a regeneration spell set on a contingency. Contingency was an unaligned spell of the fifth tier and regeneration like that, full resurrection within a few seconds of having her brain blown across a wall¡­ sixth tier?

    ¡°Si¡­¡± Erika managed to check out before the world moved, delvers started running again, insect things poured out of the buildings, Erika chocked on her words as Sigurn leapt past crackling with divine lightning¡­ but the vitki wasn''t there anymore, moving faster than an arrow she hurtled down the street and¡­

    Erika looked down at the bone blade now pinning her shoulder to the wall¡­ she¡¯d expected more pain to be honest¡­ oh there it was.

    Erika screamed and screamed, thrashing and making her wound even worse as the vitki walked away from her, the tendril of bone and sinew that her arm had become regrew another blade before Erika¡¯s eyes. There was only one type of vitki who could do that, one specialisation, all vitki could learn all spells of course but your first ignite mattered the most, it set the tone, using magic like that? Fluidly like her own limb.

    Erika coughed, sucking air into stinging lungs, the white-hot pain of her shoulder didn¡¯t go away but she needed to tell them, she needed to.

    ¡°Seventh tier¡­. Life shaper.¡± Erika said, looking up at a vitki stronger than her mother for the very first time.

    ¡°Spot on darling.¡± Said the meridian licking her fangs as they split apart her gums. ¡°Incidentally¡­ I''m going to skin you alive.¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 20

    Erika hung from the wall as the hostile vitki turned back to the others, she could tell Erika had Drowned her well¡­ probably, Erika wasn''t rank 7 so she didn¡¯t have their senses but she could tell that the woman didn¡¯t see her as a threat.

    Erika wished she could say she felt insulted but all she could think was ¡°pain pain pain¡± as the wound in her shoulder throbbed and screamed and seemed to get worse with every breath.

    ¡°My name is the meridian.¡± She said pleasantly facing off against Sigurn. ¡°I¡¯ve never killed a silver rank before, try not to disappoint me, ok?¡±

    Sigurn blurred forwards, lashing her axe side to side, tearing up the street and throwing entire houses out of her way.

    The Meridian seemed to nod to herself and [Grafted], Erika could tell it was a graft but¡­ it was multiple ones at once, a true warform, and she didn¡¯t recognise even a single monster used. Bat like ears, dozens of bulbous eyes growing across head and shoulders, rough feathered wings, a lashing many barbed tails, crab like carapace and pincers atop a pair of slender feline legs. With an almost contemptuous gesture the Meridian reached out and caught Sigurn¡¯s axe in one claw, a silver ranks, caught by a vitki.

    Erika hadn''t seen a really powerful vitki fight before but even she knew that couldn¡¯t be normal.

    ¡°Oh, come on,¡± the Meridian groaned. ¡°Try harder, will you? I want some good soup stock out of this but if you¡¯re two weak I''m turning you into croutons.¡±

    That seemed to enrage Sigurn, actually enrage her, and Erika got to smile smugly even through her agony as the Vitki taunted a Chosen, maybe this vitki was strong enough to beat a silver fighter but a Chosen?

    *BAM*

    Forget about it.

    Sigurn backhanded the Meridian down the street and, as the warform vitki flew through the air, chased after her. Crackling with lighting, seeming to burn at the edges, she ran faster than the eye could follow and was waiting, as the meridian landed with bone breaking force Sigurn spun in place and caught her perfectly with an axe blow. Erika wasn''t a fighter but even she could appreciate the artistry on display, Sigurn had timed it exactly so that the full weight of the meridian¡¯s fall just added into the axe strike, cutting her in half, cracking the plates and bursting her armour.

    The warforms eyes flared and glowed, Sigurn leapt backwards as they somehow released a torrent of burning light across the battlefield. Half the street went up in flames even as Sigurn plummeted back down from the sky and activated a divine art, Erika recognised this one, [Wall] A first tier art so simple nearly every warrior could use it.

    Combined with her falling from the sky? The [Wall] became a meteor ploughing the Meridian down into the street, cracking the shell of the city beast and releasing a great puff of green flecks, like algae, that soared into the air and drifted gently down across the city.

    They seemed to be done messing around, the meridian didn¡¯t banter as she pulled her body back together and started to hurl magick, torrents of [Bile fire] and a lashing [Blood Whip], a rolling tide of [Gorebeast¡¯s] summoned without an incantation, slabs of carved bone and runed ribs sprung from the ground closing around Sigurn like a bear trap even as they plated the Meridian in layers of osseous armour.

    This had all taken less than a minute, dozens of insect-people and a handful of delvers had been blown apart just by the fight passing them by, the entire street was on fire and the city itself seemed to be listing to the side.

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    Erika was speechless, she couldn¡¯t even scream in pain anymore, she¡¯d heard how powerful the powerful were of course¡­ but that had always seemed¡­ abstract? But here they were, a silver rank and an equivalent vitki, destroying an entire city in a handful of heartbeats.

    Somewhere to her left a blur of silver light shot forwards, apparently Alvis was getting involved, the echoing retort of thunderarms became to blur together to the ear as he used divine arts to fire faster and faster, Rumblers and Thunderers flying into his hands from metres away and orbiting him as they reloaded like some sort of shield wall of steam and steel.

    The thunderarm fire seemed to have forced the Meridian back, the clash of titans moved away across the city as more buildings burned or burst. Erika found herself left behind, sat in a puddle of her own blood surrounded by dead or enraged insect-monster things and a few traumatised delvers.

    At least she knew what the insect people were! They were [Bairn] flesh crafted creations made from simple lifeforms and twisted until they became loyal and obedient soldiers, the Meridian was a seventh tier so she could probably make hundreds of them and use them to soften up the expedition¡­ but where had they been hiding? Everyone had checked everywhere, sure they were on the bank roof before but that was because they snuck in through the door, they hadn¡¯t been up there all night.

    Erika realised she was trying to distract herself from the pain and encroaching mortality and began to fumble in her robe, her sister had always mocked her for carrying so much stuff in her robes pockets but who¡¯s laughing now!

    Scrabbling out a few vials Erika downed three of them before pouring the last over her wound, she hissed and screamed to herself for a moment, she wasn''t sure if this was the right thing to do but she¡¯d watched a few plays where they put alcohol on wounds so mead should work right? And the rest was already warming her stomach and smoothing the edge of the pain.

    With another sightless fumble Erika found the roll of bandages she¡¯d swiped a few weeks ago and then looked at her shoulder for the first time¡­

    ¡­After she was done throwing up, which incidentally was agony unrivalled with a shoulder wound, she just about managed to avoid passing out as she contemplated having to pull the bone blade out but how¡­

    ¡°Erika!¡±

    Oh, thank the Aesir and the Vanir both.

    The levers had gathered their wits and counter attacked by the looks of it, a rush of bodies had passed her by unseen and pushed the Bairn back up the street, the shield wall holding them back as they fought with suicidal frenzy, in the wake of the freshest fighters had come the rest of the expedition, now Ammeris was crouched next to her as Kara scrabbled to hold her hand.

    Erika couldn¡¯t even blush at the contact, partly because she was delirious with pain but also because most of her blood wasn''t in her body anymore.

    ¡°Erika! Stay with me please!¡±

    ¡°Not going anywhere¡­¡± Erika murmured, the pain was terrible sure but she wasn''t going to die¡­ the blade was still in which kept the blood inside her, oh its was terribly painful and hardly healthy but she¡¯d last a few hours, still it was gratify the way Kara seemed so concerned.

    In the distance an explosion ripped a street apart, the deafening crack washing away most of what Ammeris was saying.

    ¡°¡­Deep¡­ Laceration¡­We can¡¯t remove it!¡±

    Kara was still holding Erika¡¯s hand as Ammeris started mumbling under her breath, grabbing bottles and tools from her pack and beginning to cut away at Erika¡¯s shirt and tunic but not before forcing another vial between her lips. Erika lay back, in herbal heaven, staring up at the sky unseeing as Ammeris grabbed the blade.

    ¡°Hold her still.¡±

    Erika opened her eyes¡­ what had happened? Oh, she was on Kara¡¯s lap¡­ that was nice. Oh, her shoulder was covered in white stuff¡­ clouds? Clouds were white.

    ¡°¡­ why is she talking about clouds?¡± Bjorn said, when had he got here?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Erika¡­ Erika?¡± Kara had such a pretty voice¡­ oh she was blushing; she was cute when she blushed.

    ¡°This should work!¡±

    Ammeris stuffed something cold and glassy into Erika¡¯s mouth, that was rude! What was¡­

    It tasted like old fire, the ashes of a burned hall, sadness, pity, hate.

    ¡°AHHHHH!¡±

    Erika leapt upwards and started swearing. ¡°What happened! What was that! By Hels hate and Fenris¡¯ fury that was¡­ awful isn''t a strong enough word!¡±

    Ammeris smiled widely. ¡°It worked!¡±

 Arc 2 Chapter 21

    ¡°What was that! It was like getting punched in the soul!¡±

    Ammeris shrugged and began to put her pots away, Erika noticed for the first time that she¡¯d been moved inside, they were in what looked like a lords office which had been turned into a makeshift infirmary, from the floor above them came the regular retort of thunderarms firing and outside Erika heard the sounds of two battles, the normal grunts and yells of mortals fighting and in the distance, the echoing crackle and pulsing of odium that showed the Meridian was still fighting Sigurn and Alvis.

    ¡°What¡­ what¡¯s happening!¡± Erika snapped.

    ¡°They were hiding in the sky!¡± Screamed Katlin, the alf looked even more deranged that usual and her gemstone teeth didn¡¯t help the image. ¡°I told you! They hide in the sky and used their evil evilness to sky at us!¡±

    Erika grabbed the Alf¡¯s face and shoved her away. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what they want you to think!¡± She howled back scrabbling desperately against Erika¡¯s robe. ¡°Now magick them! Get rid of them!¡±

    ¡°I drowned my well waking you idiots up!¡± Snapped Erika back, luckily that seemed to get through to Katlin who shivered and scrambled away across the room still babbling. Kara watched her go then shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s crazy but she¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°She is?¡± Asked Erika, she tried to sit up then hissed and collapsed back as her shoulder pulsed with agonising cold fire.

    ¡°Yup, the insect things are falling out of the sky, they¡¯ve got like shiny thin beetle wings so we think they were hovering inside the clouds above the city, that¡¯s why we couldn¡¯t see them.¡±

    Erika stared at Kara for a long moment. ¡°Damn that¡¯s clever.¡± Grabbing hold of the wall Erika pulled herself upwards using only her left side, it didn¡¯t work. Erika felt Kara grab her around the waist as she nearly fell back, explosions of agony blinding her for a moment.

    ¡°Whoa don¡¯t move Erika, Ammeris says¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Erika muttered trying to feel for her Well, it was throbbing in her chest, she¡¯d never felt this before¡­ last time it had sucked at her like it was dry and thirsty but now it was like it was overflowing, the energy within was burning like a fire behind her ribs.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Erika snapped again, even she wasn''t sure who she was trying to persuade.

    ¡°They¡¯re breaking through!¡±

    Karas head snapped up as behind them Ammeris cursed and reached into her tunic, outside the sound of battle had intensified and a handful of delvers stagger backwards through the door, barely holding back a tide of insect-people.

    ¡°Move move!¡± Kara grabbed Erika¡¯s shoulder, the good one luckily, and pulled her away up the hall, the walking wounded followed them. Erika could just about hear Ammeris throwing vials and bombs as she shouted instructions to the delvers to help move the critically injured but the roar of thunderarms, the pulsing of magick and the hissing of their insectile foes drowned out anything else.

    ¡°We need to fall back!¡± Kara said to Gunhilda and Reidar. Erika had wondered where they were but apparently, they had been waiting outside, Reidar¡¯s green tinted hair had intensified maybe a stress response? Erika wondered, and he clutched a full size thunderer with both hands sighting down its barrel. Behind him Gunhilda looked war mad, her slender androgenous physique was barely visible under all the blood, none of which looked like hers.

    ¡°Fold up! The enemy comes from all sides, meet them with fury!¡±

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    ¡°For the Aesir!¡±

    ¡°Over here! There breaking th¡­¡±

    Across the road Erika could see Helga and Bjorn as well, each leading their own detachments which were trailed by a handful of Silvermane agents scampered to-and-fro carrying supplies or messages. Bjorn noticed them and ran past with a nod, presumably heading back to reinforce Ammeris as, across the road Helga fought back another surge of monsters.

    ¡°Keep going¡­ you two shields up! You and you get spears to the front!¡±

    Erika didn¡¯t know what to do, without her magick she was worse than useless¡­ and that was before her injury, now she could barely stand and her dominant arm was unusable. What did she have that could help?

    ¡°We¡¯re running out of powder, what happened to runners?¡±

    ¡°The defences around the bank have fallen.¡±

    ¡°Was it the vitki?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ we couldn¡¯t see wh¡­¡±

    ¡°Come on, this way!¡± Erika followed behind Kara in silence as they joined up behind Helga. White blood filled the air as foes fell buying time for Bjorn and his squad of rough rangers and other outdoorsman types to pull the last few wounded from their importune infirmary.

    As the bug things began to claw through the wall, Erika found herself cursing nomad building standards, sure you have a city beast but why build your houses out of bones and leather?! The undulating mass of delvers began a fighting retreat, Silvermane agents firing from rooftops as veteran warriors howled battle cry¡¯s and swung swords and axes and¡­

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Someone asked in a plaintive voice.

    ¡°Fall back to the square.¡± Kara yelled.

    ¡°They¡¯ve been overrun!¡± Bjorn shouted back.

    ¡°What? Damn¡­ then back to the lobby.¡±

    ¡°They were killed an hour ago!¡±

    ¡°WHAT?!¡±

    Erika let herself be swept away in the movement of people, half hidden behind Karas shield she thought desperately, was there anything she could do? She should have noticed the key before, she should have warned them¡­

    ¡­The groups couldn¡¯t rally¡­ why? These were veterans, all the delvers were, even with this ambush Erika could hear dozens of names being bandied around that indicated attempts to fortify or hold an area down¡­ why wasn''t it working?

    Erika felt it, she didn¡¯t see it, she didn¡¯t hear it or smell it or anything like that, she just knew, she understood.

    Throwing herself out from under Kara¡¯s shield and kicked the girl in the knee. Despite her weakness and weediness Erika was a life smith, she knew how a skeleton worked. As her toes rammed home Kara¡¯s leg buckled uncontrollably and she rolled onto the floor, behind her a delver whose name Erika didn¡¯t know, and would never learn, lurched backwards. He staggered three full steps before collapsing, blood running down his chainmail as something glinted in his chest.

    Erika could hear clapping sarcastic clapping in fact, she shuddered, nothing good ever followed mocking clapping.

    ¡°Damn good show that, nobody¡¯s seen me yet.¡±

    The voice seemed to echo but Erika knew what it was, a life shaper could make [Bairn] when they reached the 4<sup>th</sup> tier but at the 6<sup>th</sup>?  They were able to make [Greater Bairn], intelligent, powerful, deadly.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t, have you? You aren¡¯t even looking at me¡­ how did you know?¡±

    Erika still couldn¡¯t narrow down the damn voice, keep it talking she thought as behind her Kara stood upright gratitude plain in her eyes. Usually this would have gotten a blush out of Erika but at the moment a mixture of pain and adrenaline had left her feeling oddly detached from the world, like a spectator watching a play rather than the player herself.

    ¡°Gold.¡±

    ¡°¡­What?¡±

    ¡°We found some of your handiwork on our way here, a bodyguard¡¯s corpse with a gold dagger in his chest and ogres tracks but no damage, something scared the ogres enough they didn¡¯t dare even eat him. Couple all that with the way our groups had been collapsing, these are all veterans, only way they keep getting overrun is if someone¡¯s killing the leaders.¡±

    Silence for a moment then a chuckle. ¡°I am genuinely impressed, pity you¡¯re the expeditions vitki really.¡±

    Erika bristled. ¡°And why is that?¡±

    Something rustled in the distance. ¡°Because you¡¯re a priority target.¡±

    Erika had just enough time to understand what had been said, but not enough time to dodge. Before a flicker o gold shot across the road towards her.

    It¡¯s not a dagger Erika thought somewhat deliriously as she threw herself to the side and the world seemed to slow down, it¡¯s a natural projectile.

    *Clang!*

    With a contemptuous backhand Kara¡¯s shield shot between Erika and her approaching doom, sweeping the smoothed spine out of the air and crushing it against the stone tiled floor. Kara didn¡¯t pause, she drew Erika towards her and raised her shield ahead of them as a pair of golden lines threaded through the air and slammed into the metal again.

    ¡°Protect the vitki!¡± Kara shouted, her boots screaming and sparking as she was forced backwards. Erika could feel a divine art in use and could tell it was the only reason the impacts hadn''t broken Kara¡¯s arm. Just how powerful was this thing?

 Arc 2 Chapter 22

    Kara had an idea it seemed.

    ¡°Run!¡±

    Without another word she grabbed Erika¡¯s robe and vaulted the low wall, slamming into a leather flap and bursting into the room beyond. Behind them the invisible thing threw its blades again, Erika could hear them sparking off the stone.

    People were shouting, running, shooting and trying to fight but luckily Erika noticing it seemed to have drawn the invisible thing''s attention, the downside was it had drawn the invisible things attention.

    The wall was cut apart behind them as another volley sang through the air, the smooth gold blades so fast they shattered the bone and stone in their way. Erika was already tired, all the looting, running, fighting, drawing on her well and oh the whole IMPALEMENT hadn''t left her in a good state. Kara was practically carrying her as they took a left then a right then a left again ducking and diving through back alleys and byways.

    Kara had her shield up still as she toom more and more of Erika¡¯s weight, using the lump of oak and iron as a battering ram to shove aside scattered carts or flimsy walls as they cleared a path down the city¡¯s main road.

    ¡°Erika.¡± Karas voice was surprisingly level, she didn¡¯t even seem out of breath yet but Erika knew it was probably just adrenaline, she¡¯d feel it soon then they were both dead! ¡°Can you cast anything?¡±

    Erika felt around inside her soul, pressing a mental arm to the swollen banks of her well and hissing in pain. ¡°I could maybe manage a low power first tier spell, nothing with a duration though.¡±

    ¡°Any of them helpful?¡±

    Erika groaned in pain as Kara slung her fully over her shoulder and cleared a collapsed stall from a standing start. ¡°Hel¡¯s teeth¡­ uh¡­ no nothing comes to mind¡­ a greater Bairn is sixth tier equivalent so it¡¯s an iron rank¡­ this one¡¯s stealth focused¡­ invisibility isn''t cheap so everything but that will be worse but it¡¯s still invisible!¡±

    Kara went to say something then shuddered as a gold barb embedded itself in her shield, Erika looked back and saw nothing of course but it had definitely come from behind¡­ why had it hit the shield?

    Erika found something new, in all the pain and the fear she felt a new emotion, one she hadn''t felt in a long while, blinding fury.

    ¡°Its toying with us!¡± She hissed, so angry she couldn¡¯t even shout. ¡°It¡¯s trying to cripple and scare before it kills us! Damn it to Nidhogg and its mistress to!¡±

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    ¡°Better than killing us.¡± Kara said mildly, Erika could just barely notice through the red waves of rage that her breath was coming heavier and heavier. ¡°This way we¡­¡±

    Another barb slammed into her armour, Kara shuddered, yelped but fought onwards momentum and pure willpower driving her along.

    ¡°Son of a monkey lover!¡± She shouted. ¡°I''m going to wring its damn neck!¡±

    Erika stiffened, then grinned.

    ¡°Oh¡­ Kara, take us back to the bank!¡±

    Kara didn¡¯t argue, as a veteran delver and combatant she¡¯d been in enough melee¡¯s, last stands, glorious charges and brutal routes to recognise the sound an epiphany when she heard it. Spinning away she pelted along the hewn stone shell of the great city beast, golden barbs thumping into her armour again and again. The invisible thing aimed for her armour every time, Kara screamed as the razor sharp ends of a dozen blades lacerated her, each one thrown with just enough force that only the very end struck her flesh.

    Bleeding, furious and scared she ran, past the insect Bairn, past the worried delvers, past a storm crater the size of a house and past the rune covered vault door. Collapsing she forced herself to roll to the side, howling in pain as the barbs were driven deeper but dropping Erika unhurt on the floor.

    ¡°Kara!¡±

    Kara shook her head and waved. ¡°Do what you need to do! Its not going to kill me, that¡¯s no fun, its after you.¡±

    Erika felt like her soul was tearing, she wasn''t sure¡­ she shouldn¡¯t¡­ she should¡­ help¡­

    Running up the stairs Erika pelted along the vault, she¡¯d seen it somewhere¡­ when they were looting¡­ HA!

    A golden barb buried itself in her leg. Erika screamed and collapsed her fingertips scrabbling against a small rough iron panel, the private box opened at her touch, the broken lock screeching as it did so.

    The invisible thing was behind her, Erika could feel it¡­ on her skin, the sensation of eyes and attention and death.

    ¡°This was your plan?¡±

    An unseen arm reached out and¡­ and¡­ Erika smiled wide enough to hurt as it scattered the dry ground juniper. The dark brown cloud spiralling outwards in the air.

    ¡°¡­ What is this? you wanted to smell nice for the gods? or maybe you thought of some ritual that could defeat me? Little girl your second tier magics are nothing to me, no matter what materials and components you wield, did you honestly think your spells could hurt me?¡±

    Erika grinned as she rolled her head around, her shoulder hurt, her leg hurt, her heart hurt, but the pain seemed far away as she smiled at the thing that hung above her, the dust outlining it clearly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± She said simply as she cast [Call Spark]

    Some little-known fact about juniper, juniper ash is hugely nutritious and very good for sailors, juniper twigs can be used to make a weak but delicious tea and juniper leaves? When dry they burn very very easily.

    The dust explosion rippled through the bank vault, contained only by the stone, flame roared from the windows and the pressure wave slammed the door back open, hurling discarded tents and fouled clothes high up into the air, scattering across the city like a flock of very strange birds.

    In the distance something flinches, a mass of twisted flesh the size of a building, its many mouths filled with molars the size of horses swing open in shock, its tentacles and claws droop momentarily in disbelief and the dancing living blood it wields like a flying arsenal falls suddenly like crimson rain.

    ¡°Impossible.¡± Whispers the Meridian as, for only a moment, her souls¡¯ recoils as a part of it burns with her creation.

    That moment is enough.

    {The Echo of Thor}

    {Aria of V?r}

    For Sigurn and Alvis to add another title to their names.

 Arc 2 Endings

    Erika came to lying metaphorically in the ruins of her ambitions, and literally in the ruins of Elkhorn. Even lying down on a damp fur coat Erika could see the city had gotten annihilated, obliterated, glassed in the face passing an open alley and had its pockets gone through for spare change. Every building she could see out of the corners of her eyes was either on fire, smoulder, collapsed or all three. Luckily the gods had sent rain or the whole city might have burned down¡­ the pitter patter of the droplets contrasted with the hissing as they doused the distant flames and left the air smelling of rain, ash and blood¡­. Although that might have been Erika.

    Nobody seemed to notice her getting up, which was surprising considering how much pain she was in, she gasped, gagged and grumbled as she hauled herself upright using the wall as a support. Her shoulder and her leg were both in¡­ well agony was the only word, apparently the painkillers Ammeris gave her had worn off and each motion sent waves of exquisite agony coursing through her body, like lightning through a storm.

    Erika turned inwards, her consciousness running from the pain and¡­ yes her well had stabilised again, the bursting fullness and sucking emptiness had both passed and it was once again placid and powerful, perfect!

    Gently tapping her fingers to her sucking shoulder wound Erika cast [Regrowth and Resurgence] then repeated the casting on her leg, the invisible thing had taken her knee out¡­ what would cripple anyone from another realm was child¡¯s play for a life-smith to cure. [Smith Flesh] sealed up her wounds and the regrowth was steadily healing them inside, one last casting of Restorative Draft and even her energy was back.

    Gingerly Erika put weight on her bad leg, then she smiled and leant over on it, after a moment she winced and took most of the weight back.

    Nearly good she thought with a disappointed frown thinking about her leg, about the invisible thing, made her remember something important¡­ something she needed to do¡­ KARA! Cursing aloud she looked at the row of wounded that she had been part of, her fur mat was a bit better than that given to the other delvers and she¡¯d been afforded a privacy screen but she was still in the same long low hall, maybe an inn? That the expedition appeared to have seized as a medical tent. The groaning, bubbling or occasionally terrifyingly silent delvers lay in rows of nine stretching away across the floor.

    Erika would fix as many as she could, but first her saviour.

    As she wandered the rows she saw, through the ruined wall she saw the other delvers moving with quiet purpose. Sigurn was stood there, her hair white with the lingering fallout of using a 7<sup>th</sup> step divine art, she seemed sad. As Erika watched she gently lifted one of the Bairn from the ground and, whispering to it, placed its corpse onto the pyre and staring into the flames.

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    Erika left her to it, instead she staggered along the lines, past piles of blood-stained bandages and empty alchemical bottles until¡­ there!

    Legs giving way Erika slumped down next to Kara, her eyes were closed but she was breathing rhythmically, probably sleeping¡­ Erika gently reached out and lifted up the blanket laid across her, peering at the wounds. She sucked her teeth and tried not to swear, the invisible thing had been sadistic with its placement, the cuts were shallow but every single one was placed on a mobile piece of Karas body making the wounds a dozen times more painful and slower to heal too.

    Luckily that didn¡¯t really stop a vitki.

    Erika tapped Kara on the arm and channelled Odium from her well, shaping it into the story construct in her mind, letting the thoughts and pictures and ideas flow and imbuing them with the concept of healing.

    [Regrowth and Resurgence] flowed along her flesh, the shallow sadistic wounds healed over faster and more completely than Erika¡¯s, partly from their comparative lightness but also probably because Kara had a stronger Hamr, the shape/life force of the soul. Most warriors did apparently, it sort of naturally exercised as their bodies broke and healed again and again in both training and warfare. Erika stopped to consider that apparently the soul was a muscle for a moment before she was dragged out of her strange musings by Kara coughing. The magick running through her could heal wounds but not fatigue or thirst but Erika did know a spell that did, casting [Restorative Draft] Erika watched as Karas cheeks filled out, her cracked lips smoothed over, her dull skin flushed with life.

    Kara opened her eyes and looked around, a moment later she noticed Erika and smiled.

    ¡°Ah lady Erika¡­. Good to see you¡­ did we win?¡±

    Erika sniffled and nodded. ¡°I did say just to call me Erika, right?¡±

    Kara laughed. ¡°Of course, of course, etiquette is an instinct by now¡­ I feel great¡­ I assume I have you to thank?¡±

    Erika laughed and wiped a damp eye. ¡°Yeah, just like I have you to thank for carrying me on your back half way through a city whilst under constant attack.¡±

    Kara laughed and sat upright shuffling the blankets to drape over her in a sort of tent. ¡°You¡¯d have been fine without me I''m sure i¡­

    ¡°No,¡± Erika said simply cutting Kara off. ¡°I don¡¯t have a warrior¡¯s body, I''m not even that cunning, today was sheer luck more than anything¡­ thank you¡­ without you I¡¯d be dead.¡±

    Kara stared at Erika for a moment as the vitki poured her heart out, Erika for her part nearly recoiled, she didn¡¯t like opening up this much¡­ maybe it was too much¡­ maybe she¡­

    Kara took her hand and stared into her eyes, a strange tension in her form as she seemed to notice their surroundings for the first time. ¡°I need to help out here¡­ but after this¡­ how about you and I have a¡­ private talk¡­ just the two of us? I¡¯ve got some good mead put by and¡­¡±

    Erika realised Kara was blushing, she¡¯d never seen Kara blush before.

    ¡°¡­Are you planning on courting me?¡± Erika asked in utter disbelief, sure she was cute but Kara could do better, right?

    ¡°I am.¡±

    Erika forced herself not to look away but instead to keep eye contact and nod like a proper respectable woman. ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± She said, her voice barely cracking.

 Arc 3 Begining

    It was the day afterwards and the rain hadn''t stopped. Elkhorn was soaked, tiny rivers ran along the citybeasts shell, stained black by the ash of the dead fires and a dozen delvers had joined the pyres just as another dozen had been sparred them by Erika¡¯s hands. Her magick stopping blood and sealing wounds, unlike with herself or Kara Erika hadn''t given the rest a full treatment, just enough that they didn¡¯t die and would heal naturally over time with a bit of extra aid from her in future days. She¡¯d erred on the side of caution of course because she was still a novice, she hadn''t paid much attention to any medical stuff, it was gross after all. She still wasn''t doing the gross stuff and refused to, instead just a brief tap and spell before she moved on to the next patient until she¡¯d run out.

    Now the expedition was moving away, the citybeast had carried them to their destination and they¡¯d pillaged the last dregs of food and water from it, hauling them down the side and into their caravans.

    Erika had been told that another nomad tribe would find the citybeast at one of their scheduled meetings and, when it was proven empty, would occupy it. Space was an eternal premium to the citybeast riders and a city wiped clean was half tragedy half opportunity to the survivors. Erika wished them well as long as she didn¡¯t have to come back, she¡¯d had quite enough of the grand clearing for one lifetime.

    Now the wagons were rumbling along once again, elkhorn vanishing below one horizon as the Wold grew from the other. The grand clearing was just that, a clearing in the Wold, nobody knew why but everyone knew it wouldn¡¯t take you the whole way, the clearing was the easy bit just like the burning road, next up was the real Wold, wild and untamed.

    Erika didn¡¯t much mind however, she was floating on happy clouds in her mind, she¡¯d recovered her magick, saved a bunch of lives, killed a monster and got a girlfriend, not a bad five-day right?

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    Speaking of her girlfriend Kara was sat beside her in the rumbling wagon, the entire ¡°leadership¡± of the delvers, mostly informal of course, had been called together by Alvis and Sigurn for a run down of the losses in the last battle.

    ¡°¡­three cases of climbing equipment including rope, eight magnification glasses, three bottles of preserved jam¡­¡±

    The casualties were bad of course but, in a way, the lost supplies were worse.

    ¡°¡­one leather pack of rare medical herbs, three tents with accompanying pegs, two cast silver holy symbols¡­¡±

    Katlin groaned audible at that.

    ¡°¡­nearly a months¡¯ worth of preserved food rations, thirteen gallons of potted water, 2 cases of weapons, over three hundred thunderarm cartridges expended or lost¡­¡±

    Helga muttered a dark oath.

    ¡°¡­several scrolls and books each translated from Silvermane¡¯s private library, two packs of¡­¡±

    Alvis had enough and cut off the droning voice with a politely faked cough. ¡°Thank you for the report, Snorri, it sounds like it would be easier for you to tell us what we didn¡¯t lose.¡±

    Snorri looked down at the slate in his hands, rubbed a few symbols off then smiled up Alvis rather sheepishly. ¡°We¡¯ve still got our Wagon Rush board boss.¡±

    The mood darkened, hands formed fists, people cursed in the background. Trying to raise spirits Erika thought for a moment then smiled. ¡°Well¡­ at least we won¡¯t get bored right?¡±

    Helga giggled, a surprisingly light sound from the solidly built woman, and gently bumped against her shoulder. ¡°Always looking on the bright side, right?¡±

    A few people made aww sounds at the display causing Erik to hide back in her hood again, Alvis smiled tightly but genuinely before running a hand through his sweat soaked hair.

    ¡°Ok¡­ split up everything we¡¯ve got, ration, weapons, ammo, everything. Everyone takes the same number of supplies and splits it between their wagons¡­.¡± Alvis started rattling off instruction after instruction as the expedition rushed to obey.

 Arc 3 Beginings 2

    Only one person didn¡¯t.

    Skarda sat on the rough wooden boards staring blankly at a leather wrapped bundle before him, carefully hung with charms and painted with runes (the mundane sort) all begging the favour of the gods and their mercy for a warrior died far from home. Skard looked remarkably peaceful, where his head could be see sticking out of the grave bundle, Skarda did as well but it was a frozen peace, one where nothing else could exist, no emotions, not even sadness, just emptiness remained.

    Erika watched as, without a word, Skarda stood up and taking his brother corpse jumped down from the side of the slow-moving wagon and walked away across the wind-swept grass. For a moment the expeditionaries paused and watched him trudge away before they hurried off about Alvis¡¯ tasks.

    ¡°Should we¡­ do something?¡± Whispered Erika into Kara¡¯s ear.

    ¡°No,¡± replied Sigurn from across the bay, Erika had noticed she was nursing a number of wounds from her battle with the meridian but hadn''t asked Erika for healing, but as a Chosen she could heal herself better anyway Erika supposed. ¡°It¡¯s a nice idea Erika but he wouldn¡¯t thank us for anything we could say or do.¡±

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    ¡°Losing a sibling and a battle-brother at once like that¡­¡± Sigurn managed a small smile. ¡°It¡¯s hard but he¡¯ll recover in time¡­ and only with time.¡±

    Erika accepted that and sank back into Kara¡¯s arms; her magic could heal practically any wound of the body but one of the mind? That was far beyond her power.

    Alvis waited for a respectful moment then clapped his hands. ¡°We don¡¯t pay you lazy lot to stand around,¡± he bellowed. ¡°Packs on droogs, food in pockets, get back to your wagons and relay the directives hurry hurry.¡±

    Erika had finished her packing earlier, apparent from her looted valuables she¡¯d left al her stuff in her wagon where it had sat undisturbed during the entire battle, all she¡¯d needed to do was toss the sack in after they climbed back down. Kara had taken a bit longer but Erika hadn''t minded waiting.

    Even with all the loot, morale was low, sure seeing a pair of silvers fight a giant flesh blob monster was pretty awesome but you couldn¡¯t eat awesome, and the insect-things had eaten most of the rations when they stormed the bank.

    ¡°If we ride hard, we can be in the Wold in two days and out in three!¡± Called Alvis, stood on the front of the cart as behind him delvers scrambled to climb back to their wagons. ¡°Did anyone see which way Skarda went?¡±

    Before anyone could reply Skarda stumbled back out of the wilderness, legs stained with grass and dirt and eyes red and raw. Without a glance around he walked back to his scorith and mounted it, staring straight ahead.

    A few moments later the expedition was gone, leaving behind nothing but the echo of voices and a crudely made cairn.

 Arc 3 Part 1

    The Wold was just as intimidating as last time, ancient dense trees stretching in every direction as far as the eye could see, the one difference was the type of tree, the ¡°outer layer¡± of the Wold was dense pines but these inner pieces were different, more like vast sprawling oak trees, their trunks dotted here and there but their branches growing like ivy on stone, like frost on glass, covering the entire sky entwined with themselves over and over joining and fighting each and every one covered in leaves and searching for the sky.

    The darkness under the branches was¡­ green, somehow, not just the light even the air itself tasted green.

    The expedition had halted just before the Wold, wagons end on end and now lashed together. Alvis had insisted on it. Two abreast the double lines of wagons were tied to each other and those behind, all an attempt to keep the green sea¡¯s price at bay.

    No burning road here, no cleared trail, instead wagons rolled forwards slowly, their wheels almost locked together, axels grinding against axel as the column crept forwards.

    Erika was sat next to her caravan which was waiting to be tied in, the vanguard of wagons and delvers were chosen by Sigurn from the very best fighters and woodsman of the expedition with her own caravan at the very front.

    Alvis intended to hook the ¡°command¡± wagon up to the end of the convoy, allowing him and his associates to act as rear-guard and overwatch with their thunderarms.  This way they would keep the best visibility possible, with rangers on the step of every caravan with oiled bows ready and wagon-beds full of armed and armoured heavy warriors this was the best chance they had to get through the Wold without casualties, the expedition had already been mauled by the meridians trap and Alvis wasn''t taking any chances.

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    This wasn''t some leap of tactical genius from Erika intuiting all this though, Alvis had drilled the plan into Erika over a good three hours of exasperated sarcasm. Erika didn¡¯t really have a ¡°big picture¡± mind so Alvis had been forced to carefully explain her role in all this, which was heavy support. Essentially if people started screaming Erika was supposed to run towards it, not away from it.

    Normally Erika might not have been enthusiastic about it¡­ but she¡¯d seen a 7<sup>th</sup> circle fight! Erika felt energised and humbled and aspirational all at once, seeing that power, that grace and sureness, hurling spells that would crippled Erika¡¯s Well like they were cantrips! Erika had never seen anything like it, even Sigurn being chosen wasn''t as exciting. Now she was ready to fight, to prove herself in battle, everyone knew your soul grew quickest if you were a warrior and a bigger soul meant a higher circle, it was just basic maths! Erika wanted that circle.

    So here she was, sitting on top of her cart with the role of ¡°blasting anything that moves.¡± The only positive is that her girlfriend had decided to move into her cart fully, sure it was a quick change but there was a reasonable chance they could both die on this expedition.

    Trundling forwards on stumpy legs a droog takes up the slack of chain and rope, straining and heaving it is driven forwards by its training until finally, with a heavy grunt, Erika feels her wagon begin to move juddering forward step by step, into the gloom.

    ¡°Here we go again.¡± She muttered as the leaf shadow swallowed her up.

 Arc 3 Part 2

    ¡°YOU SAID THERE WOULDN¡¯T BE MONSTERS HERE!¡±

    Erika dived backwards as the argument went on around her, these were only wargs so it wasn''t quite as irresponsible but still.

    ¡°I SAID THERE SHOULD BE, IT¡¯S A SMALL CAVE DEEP IN THE¡­ ON YOUR LEFT!¡±

    Bjorn kicked hard and swung his heavy one-handed axe, Erika still couldn¡¯t give him his hand back but he¡¯d adapted well, Erika thought he might actually be better with the axe.

    ¡°WHY IS THIS ONE FOLLOWING ME!?¡±

    Across from him was Katlin, running back and forth desperately away from a warg pup and waving her arms around. It turns out Alf¡¯s are physically much worse than a human, weaker and more easily tired at least, something about sweat Katlin had said? Katlin had missed her opening shot in the tight confines of the tunnel and was now using her rune covered bow as a stick to jab the pup back whenever it got to close.

    ¡°RUN RUN FOR YOUR LIVEEEES!¡±

    Bjorn swatted the tiny thing hard into the wall, Erika could hear its bones breaking as she hurled a pair of [Acid Arrow]¡¯s down the tunnel, burning the faces off the last two adults. Bjorn had been right, this deep in the Wold wargs were practically snacks, but they bred fast enough that some stuck around.

    ¡°TAKE THIS BEASTS!!!!¡±

    Barely managing to dodge as a flaming arrow the size of a tree Erika sighed deeply, that was a third step divine art which is a waste AND the warg was nearly dead already! The damn thing was missing an arm!

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    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ its probably dead! Should I shoot it again?¡±

    ¡°NO.¡± Chorused Bjorn and Erika together.

    Katlin pouted then perked up a bit. ¡°AH right I should get back to the others right and warn them?¡±

    ¡°Warn them?¡±

    ¡°About the terrible peril!¡±

    Bjorn sighed and slung an arm around Katlin¡¯s narrow shoulders. ¡°Kat, it was five wargs including the pup, that isn''t peril.¡±

    ¡°They could have been! What if one was the last chosen of Loki! Or they were all Twilight blooded?¡±

    ¡°A WARG CHOSEN ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!¡±

    ¡°THEY COULD HAVE TWILIGHT-BLOOD THOUGH!¡±

    Erika blocked out the bickering and began to loot with her little money-grubbing hands, she had never really had a chance before but she¡¯d discovered after the lotting spree in the city that she liked to gather things, to take all the shiny gold and valuable items and hoard them. Obviously wargs don¡¯t have much to loot on them but a few wore bandoliers and belt pouches. Erika opened them cautiously with the end of a long knife and kicked the contents around rather than touching it, Aesir alone knows how dirty all of it was.

    A few flawed gems and shiny rocks later Erika wandered over to the argument and kicked the ground loudly. As the other two finally looked around at her she showed them her loot and nodded at the cave. ¡°Nothing else here, right? Like wargs or treasure?¡±

    Bjorn smiled and looked around for a moment, Erika saw a glimmer in his eye as he activated a divine art of the first circle. A few moments later he shook his head. ¡°Got them all Erika¡­ Katlin you ready to go back?¡±

    Before he could finish that sentence, Katlin had scrambled up and out of the cave mumbling something about fungus traps and tripwires as Bjorn helped Erika climb out, despite only having one hand a veteran ranger was still a veteran and levered the vitki up and out without fuss.

    Erika patted herself down, thanked Bjorn and then split the loot with him as Katlin kept jogging away from them.

    The Wold didn¡¯t seem as bad as she¡¯d been told really.

 Arc 3 Part 3

    The wind was bitterly cold, not just bitter in fact but biting, carving its way through clothes and skin and dancing on razor sharp feet along the bones and nerves until even the most hardened delver shivered.

    Erika was wrapped in three layers and inside her wagon and she still felt her teeth chattering, and they weren¡¯t even in the Fimbulwinter yet! She finally saw why it was once a sign of Ragnar?k, a hungry storm that leached away heat worse than any winter.

    The droogs were the only ones unaffected, happily pulling along the wagons and rooting in the frosted mulch for¡­ whatever droogs ate, Erika wasn''t sure now she thought about it.

    ¡°Probably mushrooms.¡± She muttered as she swung herself out of the backdoor and up onto the rooftop, gritting her teeth as the gale¡¯s fangs closed around her, Erika stumbled along the swaying rooftop and landed in the seat next to Helga who was wrapped in so much wool, fur and leather she seemed like some sort of strange many handed droog.

    Apart from a slight nod Helga barely reacted as Erika squinted against the gloom, the tree shadow above coupled with the frost in the air seemed to suck at torches, greedily draining their glow. Less than a day in and the expedition was already tired, slowed down and trudging through the icy mulch they couldn¡¯t even afford to stop and start a cooking fire, tough jerky and pushing was all they had to look forward to.

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    Erika didn¡¯t even have that; she was supposed to stay on lookout after all. A few of the toughest delvers were still jumping from cart to cart, pulling themselves along the joining ropes and chains, carrying messages. Helga had just passed one down for her, which was why she was shivering now.

    ¡°How long ago?¡± Erika asked the man sat next to Helga on the front of her caravan, he was wrapped up tightly enough to obscure most details but Erika recognised him from Bjorn¡¯s scouts nevertheless.

    ¡°Less than a Boughs pass ladyship.¡± He said, apparently one of the ones who was still nervous around a vitki, good. ¡°They were edgewards some, but we don¡¯t really know¡­¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll keep a look out look.¡± Erika said with a sigh. Scouts going missing was always a bad sign, in the Wold however¡­ eh it could be very very bad or it could just be the expected casualties. Luckily, she wasn''t expected to go looking, but to prepare.

    ¡°This place sucks.¡± Erika muttered to herself, as the wind howled and hungry things stalked ever closer.

 Arc 3 Part 4

    ¡°They¡¯re catching up!¡±

    An hour later Erika was finally feeling the danger of the Wold, she¡¯d been told about how bad it was but¡­

    ¡°Erika get down!¡±

    Erika launched herself down onto the wood as Kara swept her shield up to block¡­ something, it looked like a wolf mixed with a squirrel and a monkey and none of the three of them had been happy about it. The roaring snarling thing tumbled off the metal and landed in the snow, Erika saw it vanish backwards as the caravan continued rolling, she even saw a flash of metal as an our-rider chopped it in half. The blood steamed in the cold and the hungry chittering in the woods got louder.

    ¡°What the Hel are these things?¡± Kara asked, Erika sat upright and saw four rows of grooves had been carved into her shield, into iron! How strong were that things nails.

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    ¡°No idea¡­ nothing that got mentioned¡­¡± With a few gestures and a mental effort Erika hurled a pair of [Acid Arrow]¡¯s into the rustling treeline. Something let out a deep braying below as the acid struck home, something much bigger than the squirrel wolf thing.

    A thunderarm slugs and an arrow all chased after the sound, carving apart trees and branches as the expedition barrelled forwards, even with the snow and the pursuit the Droogs seemed to be having a great time, lashed in around the harnesses they ran with their foreheads bumping off the bumper of the cart in front, hooves flashing and churning snow and mulch.

    And it was proper snow now, thick and deep, it enveloped the ground and painted the trees, pouring endlessly from the sky, it was thin enough to see but Erika had been assured that wouldn¡¯t last long. The out-riders carried bright lanterns already lit for just this reason.

    In the branches and the bushes more things rustled and clambered forwards, Erika just steadied herself on the wagons roof, pulled back her sleeves and threw out her hands.

    As more acid sluiced through the foliage and sent things scattering and skittering she looked around at the exhausted outriders and the twitchy delvers.

    How much longer could they keep this up? How much longer would they need to?

 Arc 3 Part 5

    ¡°Its gone.¡±

    That was the expeditions resident apprentice skald and Silvermane agent Snorri. Sneaking out into the blizzard that enveloped the convoy an hour ago he¡¯d returned with bloodshot eyes, frost webbing his clothes and a broken axe head.

    ¡°The whole thing?¡±

    ¡°The whole damn thing, can¡¯t even find a trail¡­ like the sky ate it.¡±

    ¡°The chains?¡±

    ¡°Chain and rope both broken, in the snow I couldn¡¯t tell how sorry boss, looked like it might have been roughly cut? But if so, the same thing cut both the rope and the chain at the same time¡­¡±

    ¡°That would be weird right?¡± Asked Erika, warming her hands by the runic heater that Katlin had in her wagon, even just the short walk from her wagon to Katlin¡¯s had managed to steal her breath and scrape at her skin.

    ¡°Very.¡± Said Alvis leaning back and looking at the ceiling. ¡°¡­A whole damn wagon¡­ gone.¡±

    Erika shifted uncomfortably, as did the others who had been gathered for the importune conference. Sigurn was still storming along at the front as the vanguard and Alvis had his reinforced command cart at the very back, but just a few hours ago a driver had noticed the chains linking the expedition¡¯s wagons go slack and a few moments later the alarm had gone up.

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    Something or someone had snatched an entire wagon from the middle of the line and carried it away unseen, the now constant snowstorm filled the air with clogging blinding whiteness enough to conceal a marching army let alone a single Wold beast. There were far fewer creatures now, Erika wasn''t needed as a turret up on the roof, but those few that survived in the hungry cold? Those were the stuff of nightmares.

    ¡°We need to move back to our ranges, the last few outriders have been called back in, everyone is locked in tight.¡± Reported Snorri as a runner handed him a few tablets.

    Next to his Katlin nodded distractedly, her huge inhuman eyes never stopped moving, constantly checking every wall and corner for danger. ¡°Yes yes¡­ we are¡­ read to activate the runes, shield and warding¡­ should keep us safe for the final push into the storm.¡±

    ¡°¡­Why didn¡¯t we do that before?¡± Asked Erika, her tone biting.

    Alvis just sighed, sounding suddenly old. ¡°We¡¯ve have loved to lady vitki but the runes aren¡¯t like your magick, they take time to charge up and can only hold a specific volume of odium within them¡­ and the wood of the carts can only hold two runes thanks to its quality¡­ if we activated the defences during the first snow they would fail during the final push.¡±

    Erika settled back, mollified by the answer, as Gothi began to chant. The resonant hymns and epistles to the gods got louder and louder until the walls seemed to shake with more than the rocking of the wheels and the air hummed with power. With a crack like a lightning bolt the metal plates set into the wagon¡¯s timbers began to glow, shedding a burning golden light.

    Outside Erika heard something¡­ something huge and close by, howl in pain.

    Alvis smiled a tight smile. ¡°We now have four hours to make it into the Fimbulwinter itself,¡± he said simply. ¡°If we are still in the deep Wold when the runes fail¡­ we will all die.¡±

 Arc 3 Part 6

    The rocking carriage creeks, the runes fizz, energy swells and fades as the barrier envelopes the land and then leaves it behind, rumbling and groaning along. Wrapped and armoured droogs walk unhurriedly, there tusks practically tapping the carts ahead of them.

    Erika didn¡¯t see any of this, inside her carriage, wrapped in layer after layer of wool and fur with Kara¡¯s arms around her. To begin with Kara had kept a semi-professional distance even if she had been paying Erika more attention but with the cold she¡¯d found the perfect excuse to declare herself the vitki¡¯s guardian. Erika wasn''t sure why she¡¯d bothered with all this because she knew that at least Alvis and Sigurn knew they were together now. The veterans didn¡¯t miss a thing obviously¡­ and she was pretty sure Sigurn had winked at her.

    A weakened casting of [heat blood] kept them both toasty even without the blankets but Erika was trying to save her odium¡­. And maybe she was enjoying snuggling but there wasn''t anything wrong with that was there?

    ¡°You¡¯re getting caught up again love.¡± Kara practically purred in her ear.

    Erika felt herself flush down to her boots and snuggle closer, apparently, she got easily lost in thought, who knew?

    Outside something made a rumbling clashing noise, like someone dropping a pallet of horseshoes down a well. A moment later one of the runes dimmed slightly but noticeably.

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    Erika tried to ignore it, she¡¯d worked out how long they¡¯d last already, it should be enough¡­ Alvis said so.

    Turning around she pushed herself into the crook of Kara¡¯s neck with her eyes closed. Feeling the warmth and the firm softness lulling her half to sleep.

    ¡°Do you think¡­ I mean we¡­ will we make it?¡±

    Erika leant backwards and opened her eyes, she wasn''t getting to sleep and the fear was crashing ice like through her veins again, not that she blamed Kara for bringing it up of course.

    ¡°Alvis says they¡¯ll have ten minutes left when we arrive. The Fimbulwinter doesn¡¯t have any monsters within it, even the lokispawn can¡¯t survive in the hungry storm, it eats the flesh, the warmth of blood, the very soul¡­. The carts have a rune for the shield and a rune to keep out the storm, the shield rune will run out when we hit the storm proper¡­ that¡¯s what Alvis calculated¡­. And he¡¯s the only one with a map¡­¡±

    ¡°Why does he have the only map again?¡± Kara said, unfolding just enough to catch Erika in her arms again.

    Erika didn¡¯t resist but giggled instead. ¡°Apparently it¡¯s a security thing¡­ something about interception¡­ with the whole Meridian thing I can¡¯t even say it wasn''t a good point.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re gonna be able to do that one day though right?¡±

    Erika giggled again. ¡°¡­Maybe¡­ but¡­ most Vitki die around the fifth circle, that¡¯s how far a normal vitki can climb in one mortal life span¡­ those that make it past that¡­ they¡­ they¡¯re special you know? The Meridian might have been a monster but she was in the seventh circle at least, she had¡­ it¡­ the spark of a saga.¡±

    ¡°So do you.¡±

    Erika tried not to swoon at the belief in Karas voice, after a second she failed and curled back up. She was in the Wold, in a rickety cart under constant attack, reinforced by failing runes and heading towards a lost temple in the heart of a symbol of Ragnar?k¡­ and she was happy. Love makes fools of us all doesn¡¯t it? She thought before drifting off to sleep.

 Arc 3 Part 7

    *Trundle Trundle*

    ¡°¡­nearly there¡­¡±

    A droog snorted.

    ¡°Can¡¯t see it but¡­¡±

    Howling wind and thrumming runes.

    ¡°¡­Only supposed to be a few miles from the edge¡­¡±

    A few laughs, a cheer.

    ¡°¡­Might have¡­¡±

    Groans, shouts, someone started crying?

    ¡°¡­WAS THAT!¡±

    Screams.

    ¡°LOOK OUT.¡±

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    Erika woke up in free fall, for a long moment her fuzzy headedness warred with her survival instinct and she simply stared as books tumbled upwards, as blankets pulsed and flew like demented jellyfish and the distant rumbling became a roar.

    Then a flash of freezing hot adrenaline burned through her heart and she leapt upright, stumbling forwards she saw Helga screaming in the reigns, the droogs howling and scrabbling, Kara was gone¡­ how long had she slept? The other wagons could just be seen ahead of them¡­ the snow¡­ the snow was falling upwards?

    The other caravans lifted off, one by one, chains snapping and droogs braying and delvers clinging on desperately, some even flung themselves off, choosing a certain death in the Fimbulwinter over this unknown ascension. The snow formed a pure white curtain, like a rushing ocean swallowing them whole.

    Runes flared and broke, snow pooled and ran, throats howled oaths and epistles to the gods. Erika was flung to the side as the unseen force twisted, not just her caravan she saw through half glazed half concussed eyes, but all of them. Two dozen or more, floating and spinning in the air before¡­

    They lurched sideways, caught as if in Loki¡¯s own fishing net, dragged through the sky at a speed that rippled Erika¡¯s flesh and flung her against the wall. Pressed down as if by the hand of giant, Erika found her vision fading again¡­ but she refused, she fought against it and reached into her Well with desperation, sloppy and expensive casting was worth it for [Droog¡¯s Endurance] and [Strengthen Lifeforce].

    Instantly the she found her breathing eased, her eyes stopped clouding over, she managed to lift a hand and grab at¡­ nothing, anything, just grab desperately as her beautiful caravan, her home away from home rocketed downwards. Accelerating faster and faster, the wood screamed under pressure, the droogs screamed a death scream outside, Erika barely saw Helga move as the reigns snapped under the shear pressure and flung her backwards into the caravan¡¯s interior, slamming against the back wall and instantly unconscious¡­ or dead, but Erika couldn¡¯t reach her to heal her, she couldn¡¯t do anything!

    Something loomed ahead, a stripe of darkness¡­ as tall of a jotun¡­ it cut a line through the haze of snow and velocity¡­ Erika saw stone and metal and sinew, sculpted and stapled together¡­ then it was gone.

    A blackness loomed ahead as the expedition hurtled through the air, sucked inwards like mead into a berserkers mouth, swallowed by the darkness.

    Odium pulsed¡­

    The caravan¡­ stopped?

    Instantly, perfectly, movement became stillness.

    Erika fell on her head.

    As she lay there trying to get her breath back, Erika opened her dry and bloodless lips and muttered. ¡°It¡¯s just one damn thing after another.¡± Before she spat out lump of blood.

 Arc 4 - Within the Ice

    In the chaotic half broken depths of her wagon Erika tried to climb to her feet, even prying herself upright using a broken board as a lever.

    It didn¡¯t work, she felt as weak as a kitten, her blood had been¡­ hurt? Or something like it by the speed, that was new. Erika managed to grin as she wiped the blood from her chin, if she survived this there was a sages-saga in this for her at the next Althing, like when Aasveig Ylvasdottir had discovered that the higher one went the less one could breathe... They still no idea how that worked.

    Erika found herself giggling slightly, that¡­ wasn''t good right?

    Gritting her teeth and hauling as hard as she could Erika shot upright, the board breaking under her weight as she spun, stumbled, stood, toppled, and landed on the floor outside of her caravan. The once cheerful lacquering had broken and peeled, the interior was a bloody mess and the droogs were gone but even that paled before where she was.

    Erika had seen a few feasting halls in her day, temples to the surviving Aesir and even the conclave meetings of Vitki, but this place wasn''t a half, it was a cavern. A huge roughhewn stone room, the ceiling was practically unworked hung with thousands of stalactites and glittering with constellations of geodes and below it a vast and trackless expanse of perfect flagstones, each as clean as the dinner plates in a jarl¡¯s hall and rimed lightly with frost, just enough to crunch under her boots as Erika walked forwards.

    There was no light apart from the few surviving torches on the wagons and the only smell was ice and flame as embers chewed at carelessly spilled fur and flax. Erika stumbled back and across the room, towards the two merrily blazing carts which she simply stood and stared at for a moment.

    She didn¡¯t have a spell to put them out and frankly the heat was nice, besides she deserved a break.

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    Looking around the wagons, the wagons which had been flying, the wagons which were laid out perfectly in a near ordered grid in this vast dark room Erika let her mind run wild for a moment

    What was that? How¡­ what¡­ picked up two dozen wagons and hundreds of delvers, that had to be¡­ 80 Vaett at least? Even a jotun couldn¡¯t lift that much. And whatever had caught them was invisible! A creature? A spell?! What had¡­

    Amidst the crackling and, Erika admitted, the occasional traumatised groan from the expeditionaries which frankly she didn¡¯t feel up to dealing with now, she could hear something, a rhythmic crunching¡­ like boots walking across on the frost towards her.

    Erika stumbled around in a loose circle, just barely keeping her balance. She saw two men had clambered out of one of the wagons nearby, one was helping drag the other¡­ no just dragging him¡­ he was rather short, the expedition didn¡¯t have any dwarves did it¡­ and those¡­ teeth¡­

    Erika lifted a finger, sighted along its length, and blast the damn Warg right in the face with an acid arrow, it died screaming letting go of the partially eaten corpse it had pulled from the caravan. The scream echoed and worse, was joined, in the darkness others responded to the call.

    ¡°UP!¡± Howled Erika, hobbling forwards and starting to hammer her fists on anything she could find. ¡°EVEYRONE, WARGS! WARGS! WE¡¯RE UNDER ATTACK!¡±

    A few groans greeted her proclamation, someone stumbled out of their caravan¡¯s door and threw up at their feet. A few thunderarms were raised, waving back and forth like a drunken sailor, someone drew a longbow and managed to fumble the arrow, a string of stinging curses followed as the string slash their forearm.

    Erika was on her own it seemed.

    She could run of course, this hall was big, plenty of places to hide and she had some rations in her cloak¡¯s pockets and¡­ why was she even lying like that?

    Erika laughed a bitter laugh, even when she had nothing, even when hunger burned like fire inside her and the world seemed ready to crush her, she had had one virtue she was proud of, her loyalty.

    Erika wasn''t loyal to these idiots of course, but to her mother, if she ran she wouldn¡¯t get paid and her mother would be humiliated, no reagents, no components, the jarls would mock her for years.

    Swirling her cloak of office back Erika stood up and rolled up her forearms, the traditional pose of a vitki about to lay down some Hel. In the distant the chittering got louder but Erika just smiled, she had her convictions, she had her place, let them try to take it!

 Arc 4 - Part 2

    The darkness seemed to pulse and heave like a birthing sow discoursing a horde of chittering wargs, huge fangs gleaming, their stunted ape like bodies were covered in blue warpaint and there disgusting distended arms carried crude stone knives.

    As one they saw Erika, as one they charged.

    The first hurled itself into the air, unhinging its jaws and aiming for her chest, Erika sidestepped and slapped an [acid arrow] into its face. The second got closer enough to touch swinging its club, Erika caught the wrist and cast [Heat Blood].

    The creature¡¯s soul instinctively dampened the magic, stopping it from boiling its blood, but it howled and fell backwards in pain causing the two behind to slam into it and spray backwards on the floor.

    Erika drew on the memories of the spells she had cast in the expedition, shaping the story of the magick through her soul, a ribbon of Odium from Well to world imbued with her intent.

    This was the spell she¡¯d learned after seeing the Meridian fight, Erika wasn''t third circle yet but she didn¡¯t need to be for this.

    [Caustic Bile] erupted from her hands, a tidal wave of unpleasant milky yellow acid which sluiced across the prone Wargs, they screamed and howled as their flesh bubbled and ran, like a snowbank someone had doused in boiling water.

    Another came around the side, low and fast using its arms for speed, it leapt forwards and grappled her with its lanky arms, trying to drag her to the ground.

    But now it was caught in a grapple with her, its lower jaw stuck on her shoulder unable to bite, Erika wasn''t so limited, one [Graft: Warg] later and her huge fangs tore its throat out as her hands fired another [Caustic Bile] behind its back, coating the floor the surviving Wargs hissed and howled and jumped and raged, streams of smoke rising from their burning feet and fur.

    Erika finally could see it, her path before her, the Meridian, the ambush, all of that had been more than she could handle, but this? Erika wasn''t a warrior, and she wasn''t trained to fight, she had neither armour or weapons, and yet she was stopping a charging Warg tribe in its tracks single handily, for the first time since her studies began Erika could finally see why vitki were feared.

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    The Wargs finally fell back, cautious, and cowardly now that the first rush had been defeated, mouse hearted creatures that they were. Despite this however Erika wasn''t sure she should keep attacking, stupid little monsters they were but she could see at least thirty of them scattered about in the darkness, not including the ones she¡¯d killed.

    One of them was limping backwards, its feet badly burned, Erika stepped smartly after it her own boots entirely unaffected by the Bile, and leaning down sank her Warg grafted fangs into the back of its neck, snapping its spine and, with a shake of her head, threw its carcasses into the darkness.

    The Wargs backed up again, the show of strength nearly breaking them, but it wasn''t quite enough. Even as she stood their a few crept around the edges of her vision aiming for her flanks, whilst the main body of the Warg tribe shuffled in place, not retreated, or charging just moving back and forth waving their arms around as they did so.

    It was a serious risk each time a vitki Drowned their Well, but Erika was tempted to endure it for the third time this expedition, a Gorebeast could slaughter the lot of them in less than a dozen heartbeats but doing that again? Risking her Well? The pain?

    Erika was snapped out of her thoughts by a dull twunk sound and the scream of a dying Warg.

    Looking over her shoulder she smiled a true and pure smile.

    Of course, she wasn''t alone was she?

    ¡°To the vitki!¡±

    ¡°Rangers keep them back¡­!¡±

    ¡°Shieldwall!¡±

    A storm of shot and bolts flew through the air, scything down the probing Wargs as they scurried and howled. Striding across their corpses came the veterans, forming the shieldwall before Erika, the young bloods massing at the edges ready to skirmish and retreat. Spears flashed in the air and axes thundered against shields, creating a direful heartbeat that filled the hall and drowned out all other sounds, like the pulse of Thor.

    The Wargs broke and ran, their natural cowardice finally overwhelming their fear of their chieftain or whatever else had ordered them out to raid and scavenge. A few more axe blows cut down fleeing figures and Erika hurled a [Caustic Bile] after the rest boiling their fur and skin away enough that she was sure if the blood lose didn¡¯t get them the infection would.

    Standing their panting and proud, surrounded by the delvers Erika smiled which became a laugh as they cheered her name.

 Arc 4 - Part 3

    Of course, the high couldn¡¯t last forever, a few minutes later the group started to panic, cut off from the others in a strange place without any idea of how to leave. Erika found that Bjorn had been in the group that appeared with her and the veteran ranger had helped her rally people. Bjorn led a few of the best rangers out into the chilly darkness chasing the Wargs.

    Erika meanwhile had the whole group moving the caravans, the droogs had¡­ gone? Died? Been disintegrated? She didn¡¯t know which so she¡¯d gotten old fashioned.

    ¡°PUT YOUR BACKS INTO IT!¡± She howled stood beside the team of men dragging the caravan, after you got it wasn''t too bad¡­ or so it seemed, Erika wasn''t pulling. She was resting to help regenerate her odium¡­ because that¡¯s how it works.

    The carts that had already been formed into a crude wall were being reinforced, the less physical of the delvers (mainly archers) draping them in thick leather sheets studded with spare spears or arrows, like a hedgehog curled into a ball, they formed a ball of spikes with a safe centre. Ropes used for droogs were stretched out to form trip lines and binders, a handful of bear traps someone had brought were also thrown around the place before being collected again at Erika¡¯s order since¡­ you know¡­ Bjorn was still out there and hadn''t seen the placement!

    After the first hour Erika was no longer scared or wired, just bone weary of dealing with stupid people. ¡°Is this how Alvis feels all the damn time?¡± She muttered as she, once again, had to threaten to acid someone who had immediately started food hoarding, they weren¡¯t even hungry yet! It had been less than half a day!

    As the man scurried off, suitably terrified of the big scary vitki Erika stormed off and quickly found herself sitting with¡­ the other leaders? Is this what being a leader is? It¡¯s terrifying!

    Luckily for her Bjorn was waiting and passed Erika a mug of hot sweet mead, then he waited and let her catch her breath as she nursed it. Only after she visibly began to relax did he begin, his smooth deep voice accentuated by the rhythmic tap tap his leather capped stump made as it drummed against his thigh.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t in good shape,¡± he said plainly. ¡°Honestly if it wasn''t for you scarring everyone into line, I think most of the delvers we brought would have legged it, this place has them terrified and getting sucked in here didn¡¯t help¡­ on that subject.¡±

    Bjorn turned to one of the other three people in the tight confines of Erika¡¯s caravan, not someone Erika had spoken to before, one of the scouts, in fact the only one who¡¯d survived when the expedition¡­ flew here? He was small, drawn, pale skinned and flaxen haired with watery blue eyes, he reminded Erika of a rabbit that had just been given an enormous tax bill.

    ¡°Oh¡­ what¡­ yes¡­ Ma¡¯am! Um¡­ lordship?¡±

    Erika sighed loudly and shook her head. ¡°Technically vitki is a title itself, lady Erika suffices.¡± She was sick of trying to put people at their ease, it wasn''t helping her or them, they could be at her ease for once!

    ¡°Right... right¡­ uh well I wasn''t out in the Fimbulwinter itself o¡¯ course what with the whole eating your soul stuff¡­ but all us scouts had to take the furthest out caravans and stay alert¡­ when we¡­ when it all happened I was facing rimwards and I saw a¡­ sort of like a reverse flash thing? Like lots of light in the distance sort of pulling in¡­ even with the blizzard your ladyship I could see it clear as day, scared the lights out of me it did¡­. Then everything started to like, hum, but not like a person¡­ and then we started flying!¡±

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    The others all turned to Erika who decided to do the most leader-y thing she could do, delay and prevaricate.

    ¡°How are we for supplies?¡± She asked one of the people leaning against her wall, an old scar covered copper ranked delver named Ranald Olgasson, despite looking like someone had given life to a great axe he was rarely shadowed by fewer than ten of his apprentices and a flock of junior delvers who had latched onto him. Erika didn¡¯t understand the appeal but his popularity let him rally people quickly and made them unlikely to lie to him, as a result he¡¯d been field promoted to quartermaster.

    ¡°Bad.¡± He growled, a few seconds later he seemed to realise that wasn''t enough and mumbled a few more words. ¡°Got a bit of trail food, got some potted water, not much of either, less arrows, even less thunder rounds.¡±

    Erika nodded and, still unsure why she seemed to have been silently elected, decided to let Ranald deal with all the supply stuff from now on, its not like Erika knew how to gather food and scrap water off walls¡­ was that wall water drinkable? Dismissing the idle speculation Erika turned to the last person in the impromptu council and one she had, thankfully, met before Solvor Sigsdottir, a Silvermane employee under Alvis, her spear still had warg blood on it and her eyes looked haunted but her posture was straight and her words were strong, if sometimes unintelligible.

    ¡°My people have catalysed several dozen injuries amongst our various personal, fermenting-ly there have been no deceased so far. Our personnel are also on guard around the wagons in case of intrusion and I have several reintroducing the wagons walls with extra armour. However, my lookouts are unstable to trace the path of the Wargs and so their egress was unknowable.¡±

    ¡°I can help with that,¡± cut in Bjorn giving Solvor a winning smile that caused the scarred woman to blush faintly. ¡°My rangers went after them, hoped to get a few more ears you know? But the motherless monsters move fast and this place¡­ it¡¯s so dark¡­ anyway we lost them but they were heading vaguely trunkwards.¡±

    ¡°How can you tell from inside?¡± Asked Ranald, Erika had been wondering to.

    Bjorn just grinned airily. ¡°I am a bronze rank with the delver¡¯s guild, I can afford a realm-marker. Checked the needle just before I came back for this.¡±

    The group nodded and Erika tried not to yawn, she was tired, overworked, over stressed and for some reason everyone was deferring to her, she was barely out of childhood! Bjorn had 3 kids! Why did she have to deal with all this!

    ¡°I say we hold up here and layer the defences,¡± rumbled Ranald. ¡°Traps ¡®n¡¯ barricades and more armour on the wagons, sleep in shifts with plenty o¡¯ watchmen, the rest of the expedition must be lookin¡¯ for us, right? We should just wait for ¡®em to find us.¡±

    ¡°What if they got split up to?¡± Asked Bjorn with a frown. ¡°This isn''t half the expedition you know, barely a quarter of it, what if it¡¯s been split up four times?¡±

    ¡°They got two silvers,¡± Ranald said dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t matter none how much they got split, two silvers can take a city right?¡±

    ¡°Alvis himself said that wasn''t all that was necessity.¡± Solvor muttered, her voice slightly choked before she continued with a gimlet glare. ¡°Bedsides what if they take a significant momentum to reach us? We would starve before they appear!¡±

    ¡°She makes a good point,¡± said Bjorn with a shrug. ¡°But so, does Ranald, it¡¯s a mess out there you know? Dark, cold, unknown territory with confirmed monsters in it, wargs look silly but they can still bite through bone.¡±

    Erika realised that, physically or not, the entire room was turning towards her. Someone needed to make a decision and that was apparently now her, damn it all to Helheim.

 Arc 4 Part 4

    ¡°¡­ we¡¯re going after the Wargs,¡± Erika said firmly. ¡°They will come back, and in greater numbers, knowing we are here¡­ and there¡¯s the chance their lair is outside this¡­ cavern, maybe they have a tunnel we can use to escape?¡±

    A few anxious looks were exchanged but Erika didn¡¯t care, standing up to her full (unimpressive) height she cut her hand through the air. ¡°I will lead our best in the assault, we¡¯ll kill the lot of them and take any food they have, that will solve supplies and defence all in one¡­ after that we can see if the others find us or if we find a door¡­. Understood?!¡±

    That seemed to do it, the promise of personal vitki backup and a call to action got the others onboard, a few thumps of agreement and soon the others were leaving, jumping down from the back of Erika¡¯s caravan, into the pool or warmth and torchlight that the defences had created, gathering men and supplies.

    Erika closed the door gingerly, then fell on her bed and screamed, this wasn''t what she¡¯d wanted¡­ the expedition was broken apart, she was only a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle leading a whole chunk of it, her girlfriend was missing and now she was tramping off into the darkness to hunt Wargs who knew they were coming.

    A few moments went by before Erika pulled herself upright, wiping her face she snarled and let Odium flow, the burning in her veins sharpened her mind and shook her thoughts clear. She didn¡¯t want to be here but she was! She didn¡¯t want to be in charge but she was! She was not going to fail again.

    Erika padded through the darkness, her cloak of office draped over her gangly form, obscuring her movements as much as it could. Half crouched she followed at the rear as the rangers and veterans, led by Bjorn the veteran ranger of course, flitted to-and-fro through the darkness. Despite the unseen danger, the crackling frost, and the unfamiliar terrain they moved like phantoms soundless and sure, Erika just tried to keep up and not give them away.

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    The air was cold and still, but warmer than the Fimbulwinter even with the runes blazing, the only scent was the strange sharp smell of coldness undercut by the fading smell of fire from their camp, the thin frost snapped under each footstep and the darkness seemed as thick as mist in the lungs, each breath like a cold drink.

    Beyond the firelight the shadow pooled like ink, when she first arrived Erika had thought she could see the size of this strange room in the torchlight, she had been wrong. The caravans had arrived next to a wall, the other four however? Those were lost in the darkness, swallowed by the black and the distance. Erika wasn¡¯t even sure if it was a room anymore, or if they were walking through some vast and trackless cavern that a mad mason had been imprisoned in, wasting away as he planed and smoothed the living stone. Above them Erika could just faintly make out a distant ceiling which stretched out just as infinitely and unmarked as the floor, except for the runes, small clusters of runes she could barely see in the murk, they looked like light runes Erika thought but they were so old, so ancient, that the stone they were carved into must have crumbled and twisted with the passage of untold years until the shape of the runes changed enough that they became nothing more than fancy engravings, dull and dark and forgotten.

    Erika heard a faint whistling from up ahead, a soft repeated tone that nonetheless carried far in the still air. Next to her a ranger that Bjorn had sent to watch over her (and whose name she hadn''t gotten) frowned and leant close to Erika¡¯s ear. ¡°That means they found something, something important to since they didn¡¯t just come back but risked a call, step where I step ok lady vitki? We¡¯re going to hurry.¡±

 Arc 4 Part 5

    Erika nodded absentmindedly and followed, her body working automatically as her mind filled and sorted spells. She hadn''t even learned all those in her mother¡¯s spell slates and she¡¯d not yet attended an Althing and had a chance to visit the Helsdottir¡¯s Home, but despite that the ten-ish spells she knew were good ones. Erika was busy trying to work out if she could combat cast a spell fragment, she saw her mother once use when something loomed out of the darkness.

    It was a cairn? Or less prosaically a pile of stones, not even very impressive stones at that, a crude pillar going up to about waist height and made from what looked like small crudely carved bricks with no two the same size.

    Bjorn was stood next to the pile and seemed to be looking for Erika and when he noticed her arrive he gestured her towards him with hurried motions, the rangers and veterans who had followed Erika silently forming ranks around the pair.

    ¡°This is it.¡± He practically whispered to Erika, excitement and satisfaction visible on his face

    Erika looked between Bjorn and the cairn for a moment then plumped for honesty. ¡°Bjorn¡­ it¡¯s a pile of rock.¡±

    ¡°Rubble.¡± He replied with a grin like he¡¯d won an argument.

    ¡°¡­so?¡±

    Bjorn looked at her for a long moment, then made a complex gesture like he wanted to slap his forehead with his palm and only remembered half way through that he only had the one palm anymore. ¡°Rubble is the bits from broken stone, right?¡±

    ¡°I get that.¡± Erika whispered back looking slightly bemused.

    ¡°So where did this rubble come from?¡± Asked Bjorn.

    Erika paused, look around and slapped herself in the face. ¡°How did I miss that!¡±

    Bjorn grinned and patted her on the shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s why rangers exist lass.¡± He said as he pressed his foot into the bottom of the pile, leaning his weight forwards it began to move, not as pieces but as a single solid whole.

    ¡°The rubbles glued together,¡± he said throwing his shoulder forwards as well. ¡°Clear and hard to see in the darkness, people will just think its weird architecture but the floor around here is¡­ ahha!¡± The cairn moved aside; a pair of veterans caught it before it could fall revealing underneath a crudely carved hole. The source of the rubble and, Erika could see from the claw marks, the Wargs exit tunnel.

    ¡°This will be their burrow.¡± Bjorn whispered pointing downwards. ¡°Just one of the damn things can tunnel through a metre of granite in a month, a whole tribe cut through stone like butter, this is probably a raid-way so light or no defences. We followed fast and hit hard, take them by surprise, Erika stays at the back, scouts up front, focus on sentries.¡±

    Without another word Bjorn reached up, bit onto his axe handle and then began to swing himself down the tunnel using one hand, both feet and what looked like his knees somehow, Erika could quite see as the rangers followed their leader, knives drawn and bows left behind in a pile next to the false cairn.

    Erika waited for the others to finish and then let herself be helped down, the veterans managed the climb easily and she tolerated the indignity of being slung under an arm like a sack of flour. Rock skittered as ledges snapped and the primitive tunnel shook but at the bottom was¡­ different.

    Erika could just barely see in the darkness, lit only by the reflected light of the torches in the hall above, but she could tell it was different. It wasn''t a cavern or a warg warren, instead it was¡­ rooms? But they were strangely rounded, and short, with ceilings scaled for someone Erika¡¯s size, the wall were a dull yellow white and made from some material she had never seen before, they were smooth to the touch, so smooth they reminded Erika of ice. Daubed here and there were murals, complex and abstract things formed from dots, only dots? Millions of them in a thousand colours all dulled by age and wear but Erika could still jus barely make out the swooping flowing lines of what looked like a big log? Or a snake?

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    Regardless she didn¡¯t get long to sightsee before the rear-guard finished descending behind her, a rope had been laid down and pitons dug into the rock, even a small prop had been slammed into the tunnel wall to prevent it caving in

    ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Bjorn whispered gesturing along the wings, a pair of rangers slunk away into the slightly darker darkness ahead, even further from the distant torchlight.

    A few whistles echoed along the tunnel moments later, apparently, they were good whistles? Because Bjorn started pulling Erika along the tunnel when he heard them. Erika had no idea what was going on but she could notice something, under the smell of ice and age¡­ blood.

    ¡°You can smell that to, right?¡± Erika whispered into Bjorn¡¯s ear. He nodded and, as they passed a small side passage, gestured down it with a sharp motion, Erika looked and saw a dead warg with a slit throat being industriously dragged away into the gloom by one of the rangers.

    ¡°Lookouts.¡± Muttered one of the huscarls, who were still forming a kind of moving box around Erika. A few of the jotun blooded had to half crouch to move along the tunnel, but somehow even bent and weighed down by heavy armour they moved faster and more surely than the vikit.

    Erika didn¡¯t get a chance to say anything about this however as, just as suddenly as it had started, the tunnel ended. The odd rounded architecture bulged and billowed outwards like a bubble or a shell forming another huge room, nowhere near the size of the silent one the expedition had appeared in but radiating far more danger.

    ¡°All-mother Freya watch over us.¡± Erika muttered and she wasn''t the only one praying, the room was the size of a street of thrall houses or the estate of a jarl and it was filled with wargs. Wargs standing, wargs sitting, wargs running, wargs dancing around the huge fire-pit, the flames licking the ceiling. The fire light illuminated filthy leather sheets tied to broken columns and piles of rotting fur which seemed to serve the beasts as home and bed both, a few rusted old chests had been dragged in from somewhere and had been crammed full of knapped stone weaponry. Even as Erika watched another warg pulled out an axe it liked from the chest and joined the dance, hopping and howling in a circle around the roaring bonfire. As she followed its motions Erika caught sight of a much taller warg, stood right in front of the flames utterly still, staring into the fire, Erika only noticed it when the light flashed across it illuminating bronze bands twisted into crude armour and a proper iron axe held in its grip.

    ¡°A Druhtinaz.¡± Spat Bjorn looking at the still figure. ¡°A war leader, they have so much of Loki¡¯s blood in them that they can use his divine art.¡±

    ¡°What is Loki¡¯s art like.¡± Asked one of the Delver looking perturbed to say the least.

    Erika coughed slightly and interrupted. ¡°As you know all divine arts grant three abilities in nine levels which enhance martial or athletic ability and are always the same, Loki isn''t like that, the trickster still can only grant three and nine and they are still the same but his art can allow his followers to hide better, to leap between shadows and even to become more skilled liars. Presumably this Warg is at most only able to access the second level of arts so¡­ as far as I remember he can poison his axe and bend more.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Asked the same woman with an air of disbelief.

    Erika just shrugged. ¡°Loki isn''t about frontal force; Thor grants more power in the first tier than he does in the first five tiers. But the social stuff he grants probably got this warg his leadership and that means that the wargs here will be loyal, like weirdly loyal, they probably won¡¯t run until he dies and they¡¯ll fight like berserkers till he does.¡±

    ¡°Got a plan?¡± Bjorn asked her with a slight smile and after a moment Erika realised that she¡¯d slipped into the leadership role again and, more confusingly, that Bjorn didn¡¯t seem to mind having her usurp him. Maybe it was the whole galdr thing and speaking of¡­

    ¡°I can use my galdr to kill him first¡­ that should demoralise the rest at least¡­ but if I miss, he¡¯s going to be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Can you bolster me?¡± Bjorn asked after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°Even with the hand I''m still a match for any up jumped squirrel.¡±

    Erika thought and then nodded. ¡°Yeah yeah that works, I¡¯ll bolster you and go after him, you chop through the trash if I get him and if I don¡¯t you take him down¡­ everyone else¡­¡± Erika realised she knew nothing of tactics and looked at Bjorn who nodded and turned back to the rest.

    ¡°Simple as simple lads and lasses, rangers move around the sides and get a crossfire going, the rest of you get ready to charge after their line breaks. When we get stuck in rangers move to straggler duty and reinforcement.¡±

    As the shadowed figures slipped away into the half light at the edge of the wargs bonfire Erika stop up and freed her hands.

    [Toughen Skin] [Droog¡¯s Endurance] [Strengthen Lifeforce] all activated, rushing torrents of odium reinforcing Bjorn, straining against the Wyrd itself as the galdr changed the world, even in such a tiny way.

    Bjorn swung his axe loosely and nodded after a moment his toothy grin illuminated by stray sparks. Erika smiled back with far less confidence and far more bravado before setting her shoulders and raising her hands.

    ¡°Valkyr watch me.¡± She whispered as she took aim.

 Interlude - Do wargs dream of sabertoothed sheep?

    Bones-Shine-Sharpness was hungry, this was normal, most of the tribe were hungry. Sometimes they hunted and were less hungry for a while, but mostly they sucked the green crust off the cold stone.

    It was enough to keep the tribe alive, it had been for generations, his father had sucked the rocks and chewed tunnels through them and his father before him as well. The tribe survived, hungry yes but alive.

    The raids hadn''t been going well, the pink skin two legs had taken over more of the echoing-silver-depths and the hall-that-wasn''t in the last cycle. Bones-Shine-Sharpness had added two pink skin skulls to his wergild, the value carried in his blood which he would use to bribe All-Father Loki when at last death came for him, he hoped to gather enough value to be carried to a new land, one warm and filled with prey.

    Bones-Shine-Sharpness was broken out of his revery, he always got like that when staring into the camp-flame, as one of the hunters jumped past him her wiry fur brushing against his. The musk of excitement filled the air and he sniffed it deeply until, below the dance and merriment, he found the fear.

    This was why they did the ritual dance, invoking the power of Loki to protect them, pink skins had appeared in the hall-of-cold-shadows. They had never been there before, the pink skins kept towards the top of the stone-world, the bones of the ancestors sometimes sang of far-off places and a ceiling of blue which the pink skins ruled, they didn¡¯t come down into the cold depths.

    Bones-Shine-Sharpness didn¡¯t know what to do, he was the last warrior of the tribe left, his brothers had died many cycles past. He had his pink skin sharp club with which he had won much value but his warband was made of nothing but hunters and brood-watchers, even knappers were armed now when once that would have been unthinkable!

    They no longer had the numbers to do anything else, they had to fight, the pink skin meat would raise a whole generation without hunger and Bones-Shine-Sharpness knew pink skin wasn''t aware as a warg, the pink skin only used eyes to see, warg used eyes sure but nose and ears just as much. In the darkness the pink skin could be brought down, one at a time, the tribe would have stew and the threat would be gone.

    That¡¯s what the leader had said at least.

    Suddenly a new scent filled the air, sharp and acrid, it seemed to tear at the nose stinking like the offal-pit the tribe kept in a side cavern. Bones-Shine-Sharpness winced backwards staggering and clutching at his muzzle, that was what saved him.

    A rush of burning water, grey green and hissing, surged past him like a thrown net, it settled around and across a pair of cavorting hunters. Bones-Shine-Sharpness stared in horror as they melted, their fur running and flesh boiling.

    From behind was cracking and crashing sounds, and the musk of excitement and become the musk of fighting. Tearing himself away from the horrific sight he drew his pink skin sharp club and ran to the edge of the camp-home, it was pink skins! Dozens of pink skins using flying-sharps and sharp-clubs of their own to kill his tribe brothers!

    Bones-Shine-Sharpness charged into battle, a flying-sharp stuck in his fur but got no deeper, he didn¡¯t even bother to brush it away as he raised both arms and swung his sharp club at the first pink skin.

    The pink skin managed to pull his shield up but Bones-Shine-Sharpness had the strength of a warrior warg and he knocked the pink-skin to his knees, pulling his arms back he went to strike again when he sensed someone coming¡­ a stink of battle-fury of unseen-seer of¡­. Galdr.

    Dancing backwards he avoided the lethal blow, twice in as many minutes, and saw a pink skin chieftain. Twice Bones-Shine-Sharpness¡¯ height and wearing dense fur of black and brown, the pink skin chieftain had long red hair hanging free and only one hand!

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    Bones-Shine-Sharpness couldn¡¯t understand that, how did a chieftain survive a weakness? Any tribe-brother who was maimed would be eaten immediately by the rest of the tribe. But this chieftain still led this raid and his one remaining hand had its own sharp club gleaming in it.

    Leaping forwards sharp-club battered sharp-club as they struck, Bones-Shine-Sharpness called upon All-Father Loki with the ease of a reflex honed through years of raiding, a rush of venom covered his sharp-club and ran from its sides and edge.

    He feinted forward and let the running venom flick into the air, the chieftain pink skin dodged it and Bones-Shine-Sharpness closed in that moment, throwing his hand to the side he feinted again pulling back and using his arm, longer than a pink skins, to aim for a joint.

    He had practised this gambit so long that it was part of him now, the tribe had given him his deed-name for it, this was his shining sharpness. A single knick from his sharp-club would kill with the All-Fathers venom and his double feint guaranteed it.

    Even the chieftain didn¡¯t escape!  The pink-skin stumbled away from his free arm, thinking he had thrown something, then stayed to close! This pink skin wasn''t used to fighting wargs, but this warg was used to fighting pink skins.

    The edge of his sharp-club slashed the pink skin chieftain in the left knee, carving along the edge of the limb. The wound was shallow of course, it only barely scrapped through the chieftains¡¯ leathers, but that was all that was needed. In moments the All-Fathers venom would numb his limbs and then it would surge into his chest and still his very heart and throw his Sal into Hel¡¯s domain.

    This was what always happened, this was in fact why Bones-Shine-Sharpness had survived as long as he did, he had seen it a hundred times, his victims¡¯ oaths and wails and cries for mercy as the venom coursed through their veins.

    Which is why he recognised when something went wrong.

    The chieftain wasn¡¯t slowing down, by this point he should be limping, not storming towards Bones-Shine-Sharpness at a full sprint his sharp-club a blur in the air. The warg warrior was leaping backwards, dodging the blows, but he couldn¡¯t keep this up¡­ he¡¯d never needed to! The all-fathers venom took care of that

    The pink-skin chieftain still came forwards his sharp-club smashing into Bones-Shine-Sharpness¡¯ armour and ripping it off piece by piece. He fought back, like a cornered warg, for his tribe! Even without the venom his sharp-club was just as good as the pink chieftains, he parried and riposted, he countered and dived, he used his long arms and wiry strength.

    It wasn''t working, the pink-skin chieftain wasn''t getting tired? Bones-Shine-Sharpness¡¯ chest was heaving with his every breathe, his tongue lolled out as he panted, his heart pumping desperately as his throat burned with fatigue. The chieftain wasn''t even panting!

    He had to do something! The tribe needed him, the last warrior!

    Grabbing at his belt pouch Bones-Shine-Sharpness threw one at the chieftain, as he did so he pulled back at the string. The bag exploded as it opened coating the area in ground crazy-cap mushroom, another pouch was grabbed and hurled at the ground releasing a cloud of thick spores that he had gathered meticulously, filling the air and clogging the senses.

    Ducking sideways Bones-Shine-Sharpness hurled himself as fast as his old bones could move, moving by memory in the spore-screen he rounded a hut and threw himself at the pink-skin chieftain. Even in the spores he saw the huge figure and buried his sharp-club in its side, entirely unsee, after a moment¡¯s thought he pulled out his dagger and slammed it into the chieftains back.

    No one could survive that! Even a galdr bolstered chieftain, his lungs split and his spine severed!

    Bones-Shine-Sharpness was still smiling when the spore clod parted revealing a¡­ warg! One of his hunters Ashes-Of-Fire! Why was he here! What happened!

    Bones-Shine-Sharpness didn¡¯t get a chance to move before a cold pain shot through his back, out of the corner of his eye he saw the pink-skin chieftain stood behind him, his sharp-club embedded in the warriors back.

    Not a chieftain thought Bones-Shine-Sharpness as darkness filled his visions, like ink in a pool He¡¯s a hunter

    The last warrior fell, his brackish blue blood soaking the tribes dancing ground, as he died, he saw his tribe shattered and retreating, den-mothers and gatherers pulling the warband behind them as they ran, flying-sharps shot by the pink-skins and cutting them down.

    As the chieftain-hunter approached Bones-Shine-Sharpness smiled, the tribe might die today but so would the pink skins, they hadn''t fought the chief yet and the chief¡­ the chief couldn¡¯t die.

 Arc 5 - Cold Horror

    In the smouldering ruins of the warg camp Erika breathed a happy sigh, the stink of blood, faeces and fear filled the air but to her, it smelt of victory!

    Erika breathed in deeply then coughed and pounded at her chest, nobody said victory smelled nice. Still, it was satisfying, she had led a group of fighters in a successful skirmish and, for a no name girl from the edge of a no name city, that was a Hel of a thing!

    The last few stragglers were being finished off by the rangers, their much longer legs letting them easily outpace the fleeing monsters, short swords and hatchets finishing them off with surgical blows. The veteran delvers meanwhile were moving steadily through the warg camp kicking apart crude structures, cutting down any survivors and throwing lit torches into the piles of flammable filth the wargs had lived in.

    Ironically those torches were lit from the wargs own bonfire, the flame uncaringly eager to devour its erstwhile masters. The only thing the veterans weren¡¯t burning was the loot, as they pulled apart the filthy hovels, they towed out chests of food, moss and lichen mostly but also some dried meat that Erika had examined and pronounced definitely not human, she actually wasn''t sure what it was but once she declared it not people meat the veterans had carted the small box away back towards their exit point.

    Apart from the food and their worthless stone weaponry the wargs only had a few shiny trinkets amongst their entire tribe. The tiny pile of raw ore and uncut gemstones was now being argued over but Erika could tell it was all in¡­ well not good fun but at least all in line with expectations. Even as she watched two of the claimants shook hands and ran off, apparently, they had agreed to a kills competition for the loot and had both decided to follow the rangers to up their scores.

    Really in the end only one person was complaining.

    ¡°This is it! How I finally die¡­ remember me for my dashing good looks and incredible skill!¡±

    Of course, he was complaining enough for a whole army, Erika was nearly sure Bjorn was just joking around¡­ but maybe not.

    ¡°Hold still old man!¡± Snapped Erika as she tried to thread bone and sinew back together, knees were very very complex things and she couldn¡¯t get much done with him flexing the damn ligament every few seconds. The art of a flesh smith was incredibly complex and multi-layered and, even without the damn poison, this couldn¡¯t be a rush job.

    ¡°With terrible barbs the vitki lays me low¡­ now I am doomed to die¡­ to Hel¡¯s Hall I shall go!¡±

    Based on the snickering of the rangers Erika was reasonably sure that Bjorn did this every time he was mildly injured, only when mildly injured though, he¡¯d barely made a sound when his hand got cut off.

    ¡°You should be damn grateful to this vitki,¡± Erika snapped. ¡°Without my galdr bolstering your life force the venom would have stopped your heart! And now all I get is complaints!¡± With a sigh Erika finished a final seam and twist then sat back on her haunches and patted the already regrown skin back into its proper place. She¡¯d healed his skin as the second thing she did just after she¡¯d filtered out the wargs poison and decanted it into a glass vial. Despite already being through one person¡¯s bloodstream the poison was still hissing and spitting with hatred, Erika planned to lob it into a corner after the left and let it die on cold stone.

    ¡°Oh, I am but¡­ the pain!¡± Bjorn howled rolling back and forth, Erika noticed him testing his knee as he kicked the stone, trying more and more pressure even as he feigned a tantrum¡­ a few moments later and he still hadn¡¯t gotten up, just as Erika was wondering if it wasn''t feigned at all she was distracted by a quiet *thunk* sound.

    Someone had dropped a chest next to her, in fact after a moment she saw it was the chest of shiny stuff that the veterans had been arguing over. As the argument moved over to them Erika sighed and tried to block it out.

    Bjorn was back on his feet and, despite his dramatics, strong as ever. Which meant they were ready to fight again if it came to it but¡­ it probably wouldn¡¯t?

    ¡°Did the rangers really not see anymore?¡± Erika asked.

    Bjorn gestured for the others to shut up and nodded at her when they did so. ¡°Yup, just this lot¡­¡±

    Erika frowned deeply. ¡°This isn''t right, theirs way too few of them.¡±

    Bjorn looked around at the carnage before nodding. ¡°You¡¯re right but¡­ this place might have winnowed them?¡±

    ¡°Winnowed?¡± Erika asked, she wasn''t familiar with delver terminology.

    Bjorn just shrugged. ¡°Fancy word I heard a scribe say, but like¡­ if this place is dangerous then they¡¯d lose wargs quickly, maybe even faster than wargs could spawn?¡±

    ¡°So, you think they¡¯re prey here?¡±

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    The veterans shifted nervously and Erika found herself eyeing the shadows but she stopped when Bjorn shook his head. ¡°No no no way, if they were then why was there a full camp? Wargs are smart enough to lay traps and coordinate hunts, if they were being constantly eaten, they¡¯d have fought back enough that they¡¯d either all be dead or have won¡­ it probably multiple sources of danger, other tribes, or creatures¡­ but not enough to wipe them all out.¡±

    Erika relaxed, fractionally. ¡°So¡­ they¡¯re around the middle of the food chain?¡±

    Bjorn looked puzzled and Erika realised he wasn''t familiar with vitki life smith terminology. ¡°I mean theirs bigger things than them as well as smaller weaker things?¡±

    ¡°Yeah yeah!¡± He said snapping his fingers. ¡°A few shieldmaidens or a huscarl could carve through this pace but us¡­ we¡¯ll wan to watch our step a bit¡­ if the bosses find us then its all fine of course.¡±

    Erika nodded, she remembered what it was like when a pair of silvers went all out, back in Elkhorn, most people didn¡¯t survive seeing silvers do that.

    ¡°So¡­ any idea where we are?¡±

    Now that the immediate danger was over Erika couldn¡¯t stop herself from asking, from Bjorn¡¯s sigh of relief she wasn''t the only curious one.

    ¡°The only thing I can think is that we made it to our objective, where else in the Fimbulwinter would you find a huge structure like this?¡± He asked gesturing around.

    Erika conceded his point, also just following the logic of sagas and ballads what was more likely, that they had been magically transported into the weird temple they were aiming for¡­ or they had been magically transported into a completely unrelated huge stone structure that just happened to be nearby?

    ¡°Did Sigurn or Alvis ever tell you anything about it? Layout? Dangers? Its name?¡±

    Erika was honestly shocked that Bjorn was asking her, then she remembered that she had probably spent more time with the silvers than any other single member of the expedition, as a vitki she was a social equal, technically within the jarl class thanks to their raw power even if they held no halls or huscarls.

    ¡°Uh¡­ no.¡± She admitted, slightly shame faced. She hadn''t been expecting to be separated from the living legends who were leading them! Sure, she¡¯d debated about it with Tathra but when Alvis made it clear he wouldn¡¯t be telling them she¡¯d just treated it as an intellectual exercise, not planning some sort of battle.

    ¡°Boss we¡¯ve finished up.¡±

    Erika saw the man out of the corner of her eye but, again, it took her a few seconds to realise they were addressing her I need to adapt she thought grimly as she looked up at his eyes This is just embarrassing ¡°Yes, good¡­ got all the clean food?¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡± Despite being a wild bearded ranger, he stood as proud as a huscarl returning with honour to his thane, maybe he was in a way?

    ¡°Right, then I''m fed up of this place, let¡¯s get back.¡±

    It all went wrong at the worst moment, of course.

    The twisting organic looking tunnels had been flooded by their numbers causing a press of people that inexorably slowed their passage, the rangers who had so carefully scouted were now injured and exhausted and, worst of all, had to all go first. The short climb up into the caravan¡¯s cavern needed extra ropes set up in order to drag the loot chests away and the rangers were the lightest and fasters letting them nimbly scurry up the single current rope and the rough stone walls laying pitons and pulleys behind them.

    With the rangers all busy in the ceiling the veterans would be, technically, acting as rear-guard. But having just fought a full battle they were exhausted. They¡¯d been chasing down survivors, burning huts and looting rather than resting after the battle and now they¡¯d been spurred back into a march this time carrying heavy chests and unwieldy boxes.

    Erika had fall back towards the rear of the procession, even with her knew found authority she was still a young woman, just out of her teenage years, and she had always been slight and small. The veterans around here were each tall enough that their heads scrapped the tunnel roof and their shoulders so broad they had to squeeze them against the sides. Erika didn¡¯t fancy trying to force her way through that press so she was staying back with the injured.

    The worst had been Bjorn with Loki¡¯s-venom in his veins but he was far from the only one, thrown spears and sharp rocks aren¡¯t much to look at but they hurt just the same. Erika had been helping a man named Kal, weaving his skin and flesh back together, he¡¯d been boasting about the fight and his part in it, claiming he would use the silver to pay back a debt he owed in town, maybe even leave the kingdom and travel south after the expedition. Erika had barely paid attention apart from politely humming a few vague acknowledgements.

    Then she¡¯d heard it a faint and distant *pop* sound, followed by a closer *Spang* noise that echoed in a metallic way, followed by a surprisingly light thudding noise.

    Just next to them, set into the wall, was a short shaft of bone jutting outwards, one of the delvers had brushed up against it with their heavy treasure chest, moving it aside¡­ Erika could see something metallic behind it, something it had¡­ triggered.

    Another set of noises echoed down the corridor, metallic and clashing, like a rain of arrows¡­ Erika sighed and made an executive decision.

    ¡°RUN!¡± She howled as, behind her, the rhythmic popping of the traps began to grow louder and louder, coming closer and closer.

    The chests were half way up now, slung on ropes and pulleys, and now covered in men. The delvers climbing over their loot, grabbing the strings and hauling themselves upwards, fingers digging into the loose rock of the walls.

    Bjorn hurled himself forwards grabbing Erika as he did so, pulling the much lighter girl along with his one remaining hand he lowered his shoulder and slammed into the scrum before them, hurling the men like rag dolls.

    A heart beat later Erika was on the ladder, scrambling upwards hand over hand, below her was Bjorn climbing steadily and, around them both, were the others. Anything they could grab they did as they swarmed like squirrels for the sky.

    Erupting out of the fake-cairn back in the ice-cold cavern Erika skidded along the frosted floor, coming to a stop a whole spear-throw away. Men, women, treasure chests, shields, anything and everything that emerged was flung backwards away from the hole to make room for more escapees.

    Then it was over, as quickly as it had started, the metallic rhythm died and the cacophony was silenced.

    Erika let herself lay there, panting in the darkness, she was cold, tired, hungry and hadn''t seen her lover in half a day¡­ but she¡¯d lead a successful mission, gotten some loot and nobody had died.

    Erika decided to caulk this up as a win, levering herself up to her feet, groaning the whole way, Erika stumbled off towards the distant glow of their campfire, her bed beckoned.

 Interlude - Ponderings

    ¡°¡­ I was beginning to think we wouldn¡¯t find it you know? But¡­ I am so happy to be wrong¡­ we are standing within walls that have stood since the Jotnar strode across the Bifrost you know? Isn''t it¡­ humbling?¡±

    Alvis raised a hand and gently traced it across the runes on the wall, not Runes of course just runes forming ancient stories. The thousands of thumbnail sized runes covered the wall, flowing like a tide in and out, forming shapes and pictures with the words themselves, a story and a play all in one, set into stone.

    ¡°No Galdr.¡± Alvis smiled and shook his head. ¡°This tower was made before Ragnar?k of course and before Helsdottir, before the first Vitki, before the scorching and the ash¡­¡±

    Alvis nodded to himself and took a step back from the wall, despite the darkness being lit by only one candle he easily threaded his way through the mass of tables and trinkets before gesturing upwards.

    ¡°You know I always called it ¡°a temple?¡± even the vitki never asked why, never suspected¡­ nice girl really but a bit to trusting¡­ why just ¡°a temple¡± or ¡°the temple?¡± We have the plans after all, laid down by a dying Gothi in the burning age. So why wouldn¡¯t we know its name?¡±

    A sound echoes in the room of cold stone, the dust of rotted rugs and wood vibrating almost in sympathy with the animal keening.

    ¡°Oh, stop that.¡± Alvis muttered as he looked around. ¡°Anyway¡­ the reason is¡­ well mainly that Silvermane ordered me not to of course but the reason she did? Nobody would have joined if we told them¡­¡±

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    ¡°It¡¯s not a temple but the translation is similar, it¡¯s the home, the home of a goddess! This is Gerdheim!¡±

    With a deep sigh Alvis seemed older for a moment, sagging in place. ¡°I wanted to tell them of course, especially Sigurn, but few would wish to raid the home of a goddess even for all the money in the world.¡±

    Another keening sound echoed.

    ¡°Of course, Gerd hasn¡¯t left Jotunheim since Freyr died during the twilight, why would she ever leave her home again when the last time ended in her being forced in marriage? But her hall isn''t empty.¡±

    A new sound echoes, like wood scrapping on stone and cloth scrapping on skin.

    ¡°The others will figure it out soon I suppose, the story is written on every wall after all, if you sift out all the Freyr propaganda or course.¡±

    Alvis stops moving suddenly and, gently, almost reverentially, pulls a shining dagger from his belt. ¡°Does that match what you were told¡­ traitor?¡±

    The wheezing whine starts again as Alvis swings his blade, for a second it stops then the slit gag is spat out and the begging begins.

    ¡°I thought it was one of the great clans! I¡¯m no Oathbreaker! I thought they just wanted more information about Silvermane before the Althing! I swear by the all-father I knew nothing of their plans!¡±

    Alvis stands stone faced and looks down at Tathra, the small scribes¡¯ eyes are wide and wild and his skin is made even paler by the bite of the taut ropes that cocoon him, weeks of travel and their arrival by Galdr in Gerdheim had not been kind to him and this interrogation even less¡­ not that it mattered anymore.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s terribly unfortunate for you¡­ isn''t it?¡± Alvis aid slowly as he made a show of playing with his shining dagger. ¡°Now¡­ how about you start at the beginning¡­ and maybe, just maybe, you¡¯ll walk out of here alive.¡±

 Cold Horror - 2

    ¡°¡­we¡¯r officially out¡¯a water.¡±

    Erika looked up from her table and groaned loudly. ¡°Now!? You said we had three days!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t count on no warg corpse getting in one o¡¯ the water wagons, besides most of it didn¡¯t come with us, went with the rest of them o¡¯course.¡± Ranald said as if it was obvious.

    Erika considered turning him into a frog for a moment, she¡¯d read a romance novel that had a vitki that could do that once, of course something like that is well above the sixth circle but maybe she could turn his skin green?

    Ranald shifted uncomfortably under the vitki¡¯s eyes, something about her gaze making his hairs stand on end, with a wan smile he tried to offer some good news. ¡°Still got three big barrels o¡¯mead yer ladyship, but the men won¡¯t be good for none if they¡¯re drinking mead like water, certainly not fightin or exploring you know?¡±

    Erika groaned again, even louder, slamming her head against the pile of books that had built up on her bed. The comfy wool sack she slept on had transformed into her pseudo-office since everyone spontaneously made her the leader, she didn¡¯t like it one bit.

    Ok the ordering people around was pretty fun but just that.

    ¡°Got anything to help with that?¡± Erika asked Solvor, the woman stood next to Ranald and, as the highest ranking Silvermane agent, had control over all the Silvermane reserved stuff in the wagons, Erika had had a look but it was mostly mundane with just a few runes here and there so she¡¯d gotten bored and left.

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    ¡°I am aphids not noble lady; the extrusion did possess a blessed distillery but it was instantiated in Alvis¡¯ wagon.¡±

    Bjorn spoke up before Erika could even turn to him. ¡°Not gonna be much help Erika sorry.¡±

    ¡°Your lot hasn¡¯t managed to find any water?¡± Erika asked, it was a rhetorical question of course but it made her feel better.

    ¡°No¡­ we found the walls though!¡± Bjorn grinned and Erika snorted involuntarily, they had found the walls, it had taken a good few days before the scouts felt safe enough to wander widely and a few more until thy were sure it was safe to bring torches with them, holding a torch at each corner of the room had shown its vast size fully for the first time, Erika wasn''t even sure what to call it, it wasn''t a hall or a room or a cave or cavern or anything, it was the size of a town!

    Luckily some scout or another had taken to called it the rimed-room and the name had stuck, it took a good hour to walk from the camp to the walls and the expedition had apparently appeared dead centre in the rimed-room.

    Erika had been trying to figure that out, when she wasn''t forced into doing leader stuff, but she hadn''t even gotten started properly she couldn¡¯t find any runes in the floor or ceiling and their certainty weren¡¯t any vitki around, all Erika could guess was that maybe the runes had been outside, buried by the Fimbulwinter, when the expedition rode over them and activated the teleportation effect.

    ¡°And the door, remember?¡±

    Erika was broken from her musing at that reminder, the rimed-room was utterly smooth and unembellished, except for a single off-centre steel doorway.

    That had been found yesterday, Erika hadn''t been planning to open it, she¡¯d read horror novels she knew what happened when you opened strange doors in spooky temples. Of course, she was also a life smith so she knew what happened when a human body dried out¡­ monsters or dehydration?

    ¡°Damn it all to Niflhel,¡± Erika swore as she grabbed her cloak. ¡°You three get the best of the best we have left, we¡¯re heading for the door¡­ and bring all the thunderarms.¡±

 Cold Horror 3

    Behind their heels the almost suspiciously plain stone doors swung mostly closed, leaving the rimed room and even its vaguest promises of safety behind.

    Erika had paid very close attention to it, just in case she was the only survivor¡­ and now Bjorn was staring.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking out loud Erika.¡±

    Erika blushed. ¡°Ah¡­ didn¡¯t realise¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­You think you¡¯ll be the survivor thought?¡±

    ¡°Look I''m not planning on it, just¡­ planning FOR it right?¡±

    ¡°¡­how are you gonna plan around how tiny you are?¡±

    ¡°Oh, come on! I can empower myself!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but doesn¡¯t that work on how much you already have? Or how little in your case.¡±

    Erika reply was a number of very rude hand gestures, several of which she didn¡¯t even understand having copied them off sailors, which caused Bjorn to burst out into a rumbling laugh like a bear snoring. Around them the rest of the semi-expedition visibly relaxed, the only exception being Solvor and the other Silvermane agents who all had some sort of company issued fur masks they¡¯d put on before setting off, something about air quality? Erika didn¡¯t know miner terms so she just nodded and focused on learning the knock code instead. Regardless the levity made the group move a little easier which was all for the best considering they were armed to the teeth.

    Erika had assembled the best of the best for their scavenger run, it was practically the same line up as the Warg hunt but this time they didn¡¯t know what they might run into, every one of the veteran delvers that followed in Erika¡¯s wake were armed with a thunderarm, axe and dagger each. They didn¡¯t have enough of the longer and more powerful Thunderers for the whole group so a few people had some of Alvis¡¯ smaller hand held Rumblers, Erika was one of them, the huge bowless crossbow design of the Thunderers was much too heavy for her, besides she had her galdr.

    The corridor they stood in was just as cold and huge as the rimed room almost like it was sized for jotun, the ceiling was a streets length above Erika¡¯s head, the walls were loomed slabs of black stone only seen in the corner of her eyes and it stretched away into infinity before them swallowed by distance and darkness.

    Half the expedition carried lit lanterns, and the other half unlit ones, just in case they got scattered again. But even that blaze of light was barely enough to outline the shadows of this vast and trackless passageway.

    Scouts ranged ahead looking like shooting stars in the darkness, discarding stealth and relying instead on the army at their heels. Behind them Erika knew two separate delvers were on mapping duty, one was an amateur cartography with plenty of paper and ink and the other had a long piece of chalk, both might be overkill but Erika didn¡¯t agree and didn¡¯t care, she wasn''t dying here.

    The walk along the corridor took a full thirty minutes, during which every little creek or groan from the warming stone filled Erika with burning panic, by the end of a single corridor she was already mentally exhausted but that washed away when she saw their destination.

    The best way to describe it? A shell. If you have ever taken a shell from the beach and turned it over you would see the smooth white underside so shiny and clean dappled with grey and off-white like a living thing, and shells were of course but this¡­ this place should be.

    The walls were bone white and smooth as glass, shining in the faintest light, the ceiling was organically curved away above them so far it could barely be seen. Every inch of the white stone was covered in thousands of tiny dots, tiny tiny runes which made up pictures that were also stories, dragons roaring and giants raging each as large as a house and seeming even larger in the reflected gleam of the torches.

    And that was just the walls, the room itself was as grand again. It was very strangely shaped, Erika thought it looked like an octagon but smooth, with others rooms where their would have been points, the expedition had arrived in one of these sub rooms which was still the size of a city street, beyond it thought Erika could see a strange winding column, as thick as a mountain which vanished into the haze above, it looked like it was made from thousands, millions, of individual threads of metal? Or bone? Erika could make it out but its presence dwarfed them even so far away.

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    The smaller room they were in would still take a good five minutes to cross at a brisk pace and that was if you ignored the defences.

    No galdr luckily and no traps Erika could see, although she knew she was no expert, but walls. Low walls that still towered above her and taller barricades bigger than houses, bastions rose in chokepoints and pillars lined every terraced lip. This room was built on at least three separate levels, each lower than the last and leading down to the open mouth of the tunnel the expedition had just exited. Above and before them the walls and domes made a clear sight, even to Erika.

    ¡°Is this a guard post?¡± Erika asked aloud, looking up at the strange box next to some sort of barrier arm. The terraced layers gave a view down onto the next one and the walls blocked the view in return which all screamed military to Erika.

    ¡°Something like it,¡± replied Bjorn, both were whispering and neither had intended to, the sheer size of the room seemed to demand a type of quiet solemnity, the same sort of stifling air felt in hospitals and libraries. ¡°More like a check point¡­¡±

    Erika looked up, then down, then back behind them. ¡°¡­ this is supposed to happen.¡±

    After a moment of dramatic tension Bjorn grinned and, pointedly, refused to ask the follow up question until Erika pouted and stamped on his foot.

    ¡°Ah¡­ fine fine¡­. What do you mean oh most intelligent vitki¡­ I asked it stop stamping!¡± Erika eased off and grinned like a cat that had gotten the cream, the deed to the cream factory and held the canary¡¯s family hostage until it walked into her mouth itself.

    ¡°Ah my dear friend you only had to ask!... the only way out of the rimed room was this way which leads to a check point, thing therefore we can easily deduce that caravans or other things flying through the air and appearing in that room is normal, with this check point being placed here specifically to deal with those that got¡­ sucked? Yes, let¡¯s go with that, sucked in through the air. Whatever sucked us in wasn''t a means of entrance or a random phenomenon, it was a trap.¡±

    Ranald nodded, Bjorn¡¯s smile dimmed and Solvor uttered a string of unintelligible but somehow still utterly filthy curses.

    ¡°Is it still one?¡± Ranald demanded gripping his axe handle so tightly that his knuckles whitened. Erika rocked her hand back and forth in the air and scrunched up her face. ¡°eeeeeeh¡­ kinda¡­ like linguistically its always going to be¡­¡± Apparently nobody else was interested in the linguistic complication of the word trap so Erika chose to be gracious and move on. ¡°But is it dangerous? No, the dust we¡¯ve walked over, the warg infestation, the broken rune lights? All of those things point to this place having been for a full age at least, maybe even before Ragnar?k, any guards are long dead.¡±

    ¡°What about magic?¡± Asked Bjorn as he sized up the ramp ahead of them.

    ¡°Well, the only kind of magic that can make permanent magical effects is rune magic, and runes need to be shaped like a rune, we saw the rune lights in the rimed room, right? This place is so old that the stone the runes were carved in has eroded and warped¡­ something must be keeping this place safe from the Fimbulwinter outside but that¡¯s probably something much stronger, maybe steel runes? Or godsbone.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t be godsbone, none of them died before Ragnarok¡­¡± Ranald started to say.

    ¡°Oh, they did, some of Aesir and Vanir both, but mortals weren¡¯t able to tear apart their corpses back then I¡¯ll give you that.¡± Said Erika as he tested the bottom of the rough stone ramp with her toe.

    ¡°History lesson aside,¡± said Bjorn with strained patience. ¡°Is it safe?¡±

    ¡°Should be,¡± said Erika with a shrug. ¡°Anything dangerous should have died, traps should have seized up and runes should have failed, obviously some might still be left so just keep your eyes open.¡±

    ¡°Was gonna anyway girl.¡± Ranald muttered; Erika stuck her tongue at him. Bjorn ignored the byplay and, levelling his thunderarm carefully, began stalking up the wide shallow ramp.

    Despite the fear and the flickering torchlight the ascent was entirely mundane and utterly boring, no traps or monsters or anything, just cold stone and jotun sized booths and barricades all of which were open and empty.

    A few minutes later the expedition cleared the guard post without another word spoken and found themselves in the previously distant central¡­ place. Erika wasn''t sure if it was technically a chamber or not but it was still impressive, perfectly circular except for the doors and murals carved into the walls and the enormous hole that carved through the ceiling and the floor, directly above each other like a great spear had once drilled through this strange abandoned tower, the two apertures were filled with¡­ strings? Chains? Bars? All of the above? Thousands and thousands of crisscrossing black lines that Erika could barely make out in the sparsely illuminated darkness, they seemed to be thick enough that

    ¡°Now that¡¯s not something you see every day.¡± Remarked Bjorn as he stared up at the barely illuminated darkness.

    ¡°I smell smoke.¡± Said Solvor suddenly, her rough accent edged with worry.

    ¡°So can I,¡± Bjorn added leaning over the strand filled pit and sniffing deeply. ¡°Its faint but it¡¯s definitely wood smoke¡­ and meat as well, maybe some spices? Good catch Solvor.¡±

    Solvor just nodded at his complement, her eyes still as hard as diamonds. Erika meanwhile had wandered back way from the huge chain-hole thing and was instead looking at the doors. There were nine of them positioned around the room, three groups of three, auspicious. They all seemed to have been made from huge sheets of copper or that¡¯s what Erika guessed since all that she could see now was the almost fungal bloom of grey and green from corrosion, layers, and layers of it seeming like it was growing over the door and out into the walls around the buckled and warped hinges.

    Of course, it was that moment, stood staring up at the corroded portal, that Erika heard the screams.

 Cold Horror - 4

    Erika¡¯s reactions weren¡¯t the best, neither the quickest nor the most comprehensive, but even she knew screaming was bad. The veteran delvers around her knew both that and how to triangulate the sound back to its source. Like one creature pushing off some abyssal rock in the depth of the sea, the miniature expedition unfolded like a flower and exploded into motion, pouring back towards the tunnel and the rimed room, the source of the screams.

    Erika was at the back before they even started but Bjorn grabbed her shoulder and hauled her along for the first few steps before she understood what was going on and, after that, she just needed to run to keep up.

    The delvers leapt down the slipper icy slope, tumbling and falling and springing back upright as they did so, over the guard posts, below the waist heigh barriers that had been set up in some forgotten age (and where probably ankle height on a jotun Erika managed to think even as her lungs began to burn), down the last widest ramp and across the strange circular exit platform and finally into the long dark corridor itself.

    Strange shadows played on the walls as lanterns swung back and forth jarred by moving bodies and pumping limbs, boots rang on the cold tiles echoing over and over until it became a single noise. Erika found herself lagging behind further and further, the main pack of delvers moving on at breakneck speed, the only ones near here were the few wearing heavy armour or carrying the largest shields and even they were outpacing her bit by bit.

    ¡°Blow this for a game of soldiers.¡± Muttered Erika and reached inside herself, humming she coaxed Odium, forming the saga of a galdr, the living story of a spell, a tale of a monster becoming a man or was it a man becoming a monster? Who can say.

    [Graft: Warg]

    Erika felt her face shift and warp, her limbs elongate and twist into retrograde positions, luckily the strongest part of Grafting was that it keeps any positive traits of the original, a graft only ever results in a stronger creature. What that meant was that Erika didn¡¯t become short and stupid, she kept the superior human height and brain, but also got to enjoy the much better warg speed.

    Exploding into motion now Erika surged forwards through the dense pack of delvers, passing the heavies, then the shield bearers, then the great-weapons and finally running alongside Bjorn and his rangers.

    Just in time as it turned out, Erika barely had a moment to nod at Bjorn and marvel in her speed before their mad dash finally reached the end of the strange arrival corridor and let them scatter into the rimed room.

    Erika, speed forgotten, stopped dead in her tracks and stared.

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    Chaos, panic, pandemonium, bedlam. Worse than the ambush, worse than the meridian, the caravan had bene attacked.

    In the distant centre of the huge rimed room Erika could see fire and ash, plumes of smoke rising from burning wagons, their crude defensive circle of caravans was now ablaze, their barricades torn down, people fought or ran in disparate groups, darkness and fear doing the damage of a dozen armies as arrows flew in random arcs and spears stabbed for any approaching shadow.

    It took Erika a moment to see what they were fighting, the darkness defeating even her new warg eyes, but her sense of smell was also enhanced and she recognised the tang of blood.

    The wargs were back.

    Dozens of them, maybe hundreds, moving slowly through their defences hacking through spears and cutting down delvers with heavy flint axes. From her distant vantage point Erika could see the fake cairn, the one that hid the tunnel down to the wargs, it had been smashed to pieces and in its place was a yawning hole from which wargs poured, steadily and slowly but with uncanny focus as they marched towards the flames.

    Bjorn didn¡¯t stop for a moment, with a bellowed ¡°WITH ME!¡± he charged towards the flames the rest of the delvers on his heels. Around Erika the rangers slid to a halt and drew their bows in unison, despite the distance and the darkness they began to fire, not a volley of arrows but a wall, reach ranger timing their shot after whoever was stood on their right side so that at least one arrow was always in the air. They didn¡¯t seem to be aiming for clean shots but instead to cover the retreating expeditionaries who were fleeing the burning wagons with wargs in lock step pursuit.

    Bjorn, lit by the swinging lanterns of the delvers around him, charged into the mass of wargs. His axe almost buzzed through the air as he began to hack and break, a second later the rest of the charge slammed home bowling over the short creatures, scattering and skewering them in ignominious piles.

    Erika wasn¡¯t even sure if she would be needed, the elites who had returned with her carved their way through the warg lines, the rangers covering the non-combatants escape, Solvor was gathering the Silvermane agents and Erika saw her already dragging food and water away from the flames as Ranald rallied the delvers who had broken and fled, gathering them into shield walls and having them cover the charge.

    It was a beautiful example of skill, the kind of skill Erika didn¡¯t have, nothing to do with galdr and everything to do with experience.

    Thinking like that is tempting the Norn¡¯s however and at that moment Erika heard a panicked voice screaming from within the burning wagons. ¡°Run RUN! They have a Gothi!¡±

    A bolt of white lightning lit up the rimed room, striking faster than thought, only visible as a shadow burned into the eye by its passage. Bjorn was flung backwards, his armour glowing cherry red all along his left side, the two delvers behind him weren¡¯t even that lucky, one was crumbled still and apparently whole except for the web of fractal black burned into his skin, the other had a molten hole drilled though her breastplate and carved into where her heart should have been.

    Hobbling into view came a warg, small and twisted even for its kind, carrying a huge tome which blazed with rune light. As the battlefield seemed to hold its breath the warg shook the book, a huge thing made from finely worked silver plates, not the crude work of a warg, wafting away the smoke of an expended rune. Leafing to a new page it looked over at the reinforcements and white flashed in the darkness as it smiled.

 Cold Horror - 5

    Erika didn¡¯t like that, did not, and luckily, she was in a position to do something about it, that position for a vitki was line of sight.

    A glutinous bulb of acid flew like a sparrow, plunging forwards with deadly intent and¡­ landed a dozen paces in front of the warg.

    Erika still hadn''t gotten any better at aiming.

    The warg looked at her with an oddly pitying look just moments before it tapped the page of its book again. Erika cursed and threw herself to the ground instantly but she still felt the wash of heat across her back, a flare of agony and fire as the bolt skimmed across her. Obviously, she couldn¡¯t dodge a lightning bolt that would be absurd, but she could dodge the Gothi casting the lightning bolt and runes took longer than galdr to actually activate.

    The graft was still going strong so Erika didn¡¯t climb back to her feet, or even jump, she swung her overlong arms and flung herself up and backwards with a single slap, landing with her palms aimed forwards.

    Another blob of bile and acid hurtled like an arrow at the Gothi as Erika began to move, running as fast as she could to the side, her mother had always called this ¡°strafing¡± Erika found herself remembering in that light headed and distant way that memories had when viewed through shock and fear. Around her huscarls and delvers fought the wargs, battle cries rang and axe cleaved but she ignored all of it, her vision narrowing to a keyhole centred on the hateful smile of the Gothi, she was going to destroy it even if she had to burn as well.

    Another page was flicked and the Gothi tapped an eerie rhythm with its claws, a flare of odium and a taste of purple was the only alert as the floor trembled and heaved, a thousand false feet slamming down as one.

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    Erika stumbled and slammed into a warg, she fumbled her thunderarm out and fired, taking the monsters head off and letting the recoil push her back. Her legs were already burning but she knew that stillness was death in a galdr duel.

    An odium surge alert her, this one filled with an intent, a saga, of armies clashing and forges roaring and hammers pounding¡­. Passions¡­ Fire. Erika turned around, grabbed the warg she¡¯d just decapitated and swung her entire bodyweight around, pulling its corpse between her and the gothi, a second later the air screamed, a bloom of light and heat and fire wrenched the corpse away and sent Erika hurling backwards.

    Cursing and crawling Erika scrambled across the floor as the warg advanced towards her, the corpse was lying a dozen paces away, its ribs blown outwards, its skin tattered and burning and it was the only thing Erika could use to win. With an effort of will Erika crawled across on her hands and feet and grabbed the corpses ankle as behind her Odium flared.

    [Smith Flesh] twisted the corpse upwards and across, the flesh and bone writhing and warping to Erika¡¯s will as he half turned half fell over. The warg threw a spear of light towards her, a semi-solid weapon spun of starlight which slammed with a sickening crunch into the shield Erika now held.

    Erika grinned as the warg cursed and began to fumble with its book, tapping her own thigh she cast [Droog¡¯s Endurance] on herself, felt her muscles stop aching and her lungs stop burning in a moment of blissful release, then ran as fast as she could straight for the warg.

    Drawing on her well as deeply as she dared Erika flung tow handfuls of Caustic bile towards it, making the creature yip and dance backwards, distracting it from its book, buying a few more heartbeats before it found a rune and tapped it.

    The wind howled and stone broke as invisible force, like the kick of a giant, slammed into Erika who grunted as she was forced back, but only a step, grafted warg muscles and a flesh and bone shield dispersing the blow and letting her get¡­ close¡­enough.

    Four paces from the warg Erika slammed both palms into her shield and overcharged [Heat Blood]

 Cold Horror - 6

    The twisted mass of dead flesh, bone and yes blood, exploded. Red steam shot outwards and upwards, chunks of boiling flesh spattered and spun and amid all of the horror and heat the warg screamed, yipped and howled, like the death throes of Fenris wolf himself.

    Erika, not having been born yesterday, drew her thunderarm again and fire its second barrel into the creature¡¯s chest then, after it slumped apparently dead on the floor, also went over, and drove her knife into its eye then twirled the blade around in the creature¡¯s brain.

    A moment later Erika stood up and groaned, her well ached in her chest despite her specifically avoiding flooding it again, her legs burned even through her enhancement galdr, the stench of blood made her want to throw up and the sensation of driving her knife into the wargs head nearly pushed her over the edge. But she managed to keep her lunch down and looked back the others expecting to see them cheering the conquering heroine.

    They weren¡¯t, they were dying instead.

    The wargs hadn''t stopped, they barely even seemed to notice their Gothi dying, instead they kept marching, crude blades driven with monstrous strength hacking and piercing through every delver in their path.

    Everything Erika knew said that wasn''t how they worked, wargs were pack animals even more than humans, take out the chieftain and the rest run away. Why weren¡¯t they doing that?

    ¡°Erika!¡± Bjorn was suddenly beside her, she hadn''t even seen him arrive, his axe was covered in jelly like blood that clung and coagulated and flanking him was a bodyguard of his rangers, still raining arrows into the crowd. ¡°We need to leave, I¡¯ve got Ranald leading the survivors out and Solvor¡¯s getting all of Silvermane¡¯s lot ready to move, I¡¯m going back for the rest of the food so you need to lead them out of the door and into that guard post thing we found!¡±

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    Erika just starred at him, after a moment Bjorn cursed and slapped her with his stump, Erika screamed and jolted then settled and glared.

    ¡°Ah good your back,¡± said Bjorn entirely unapologetically. ¡°Battle still new, isn''t it? Look¡­ just get all people and lead them away ok! Can you do that?!¡±

    ¡°What¡­ why?¡± Erika snapped looking back at the flames and the dying. ¡°Why are we loosing?¡±

    Bjorn looked at her, utterly boggled, for a moment then shook his head. ¡°I thought vitki were smart? Except for the one you killed these aren¡¯t wargs...¡± With a gesture of his axe, he drew Erika¡¯s attention to one of the fallen, a warg pieced through by a dozen arrows and then split further by a battle axe, and somehow it stilled glared and gnashed its teeth towards her. ¡°They¡¯re draugr!¡±

    Erika went still for a moment as the realization sunk in. She¡¯d noticed the wargs odd uniformity and discipline and how slow they were but in the fog of war she hadn''t bothered to link those thoughts together, a Gothi of Loki could easily make draugr¡­ specially with all the corpses they¡¯d left down in the warg nest! Hundreds of fresh and ready corpses isolated from retaliation, just waiting for the Gothi to engrave the runes of rising on their skulls and deny the¡­ warg equivalent of a Sal, whatever it was, its passage to Helheim or into Nidhogg jaws.

    The death of the Gothi seemed to have unleashed them, the draugr began to visible use the powers of death they were known for, some grew to the height of giants, some shrank to the size of rats, many turned wild and feral howling like beasts as their skins deformed and their fangs grew so large they split their flesh apart, Erika saw one struck in the torso with a thunderarm round only for the striker to collapse in a burst of arterial blood as the wound was mirrored upon their own chest.

    This many Draugr¡­ they couldn¡¯t win¡­

 Cold Horror - 7

    ¡°HURRY AND RUN!¡± Shouted Bjorn as he finally ran past her, dashing away into the mass of newly frenzied monsters. Erika watched him go in astonishment laced with horror as Bjorn casualty dodged giant twisted monsters and tiny ravenous corpses his axe flashing out to form a steel halo everywhere he walked.

    Snapping back to reality Erika turned around and began to yell. ¡°YOU HEARD HIM! You and YOU YEAH YOU grab that guy with the one leg, everyone else get the loot!¡±

    With someone yelling orders the delvers moved, most still looked shocked and barely seemed to comprehend what was going on, but an authoritative voice giving commands wasn''t something you needed to understand, just to obey.

    Erika lashed out a stream of acid to melt one of the draugr as the survivors began to move, carrying boxes and bags, crates and packages, anything and everything they could find. Erika saw Solvor in the heart of the mass of people, laden down with slates and scrolls, she also saw Ranald doing just what Bjorn had said, leading group after group of newly rescued survivors back to the main mass where they were handed over to Erika before he dived back into the flames.

    She needed to lead them now, didn¡¯t she? Get them in place in the jotun¡¯s old defences and hope the rest survived? But before she did Erika took a moment, luckily, she didn¡¯t have anything in her wagon she cared about but she did stop just long enough to grab the silver-plated tome the warg Gothi had used, it was far to fine for a warg to have made it¡­ maybe it had been here before them?

    She couldn¡¯t spare more than that single moment to loot however, she trusted Bjorn and she knew what she needed to do. So waving, kicking, and shouting she pushed her way through the crowd and lead them towards the distant door and out of the rimed room.

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    Turning her back on the flames and steeling herself Erika forced the survivors to move, faster and faster, dragging their burdens in trailing arms as they walked, then marched, then jogged across the ancient tiles, the gap between them and the draugr widening every moment. Erika just prayed it was enough.

    Leading the charge as she was Erika directed the flow through the darkness and up to the huge stone doors of the rimed room, both of which were jotun sized and hung fully open from the earlier charge through them, and even if Erika could close them by herself, she knew they didn¡¯t have locks.

    Racking her brain Erika tried to think of some way to use her galdr to fix this, maybe gluing the door closed with something like algae? But then how would Bjorn get through?

    Erika shouted a few commands to cover up her trepidation, spurring the mad dash of men and women up the stone passage and out into the wide and poorly lit expanse of the guard post¡­ if closing the doors wouldn¡¯t work then what about a kill box? Erika grinned and pushed herself forwards, her Graft and enchantment magic allowing the bookish young woman to outpace veteran infantry with ease as she stormed up the tunnel and burst into the cavern chamber beyond.

    ¡°THUNDERARMS! All of you get your thunderarms or bows or just get ready to throw a rock! I want everyone lined up behind those emplacements NOW!¡±

    Pushing and pulling the delvers Erika managed to get them up the first ramp and into the strange box that seemed to guard the oddly thin barrier that crossed the path. Its builders probably thought of it as a small and flimsy defence but they were jotun, or at least jotun sized, for humans like Erika the box was two hands thick of ancient iron, enough to stop most siege weaponry let alone a draugr¡¯s clumsy blows.

    Barely set up Erika lurched as a distant noise became a close one and Bjorn exploded from the doorway surrounded by three bloody and beaten rangers and carrying fully five full crates lashed to him by leather straps.

    Erika didn¡¯t have time to say a word as Bjorn sprinted past her the slope and past the waiting delvers until, like a puppet with its strings cut, he collapsed with a single croaked exhalation that nevertheless cut through the silence like a knife.

    ¡°Right¡­ behind¡­ me.¡±

    In the tunnel, the booted feet of a legion rang out, each one marching to war.

 Empty - 01

    Erika stared up at the ceiling, the strange weft and weave of stone and¡­ bone was it? No maybe steel? Above her had drawn her eye. It formed great looping patterns, so different to the dotted ones on the walls, the dots seemed to tell mythology or at least were shaped like pictures from myth Erika could read the language, but the ceiling¡­ the loops of metal and harsh geometric angles of stone formed abstract vistas, false sunsets and made up mountains, all trapped forever in the rock.

    ¡°Ok¡­ if your alive sound off!¡±

    Oh Bjorn made it, Erika thought slightly deliriously, I coulda sworn I saw his head chopped off.

    A few cracked and whimpering voices sang out, a handful more robust ones as well, probably the real veterans if Erika was to make a guess.

    ¡°Eri¡­ damn it! Has anyone seen the vitki! Did she survive?¡±

    Erika sighed, a huge deep sigh that rattled her aching limbs but still couldn¡¯t wash away her fatigue, before she forced herself to speak.

    ¡°¡­alive! Don¡¯t wanna be but I am.¡±

    ¡°Oh thank Odin¡­ Ranald, what about you?¡±

    Silence

    ¡°Damn them all the way to the doors of Helheim¡­ Solvor?¡±

    ¡°Alive!¡±

    ¡°Good¡­ good¡­¡± The voice trailed off, Erika thought Bjorn sounded flustered and why wouldn¡¯t he be, they¡¯d lost! Oh sure some of them were still alive but the tide of Draugr had been overwhelming, even those with less galdr in their veins had the impossible durability of the unliving. The first ramp had fallen and they¡¯d moved to the second, then it had fallen and they¡¯d run for the third, by the fifth everyone had given up Erika saw a good dozen in all deserting, simply turning and running during the battle, heading for side passages and unlocked doors. Combined with the casualties¡­ the shield walls had broken and champions had sallied forth to stem the tide leaving many valiant dead to be laid before the Valkyries, none of that helped the living though. In the end Bjorn had escaped with whoever he could, shouting for the retreat as Erika had covered the ground in acid hoping to burn off a few feet and slow the Draugr down at least, then they¡¯d just run.

    Dozens of corridors and hours of mad flight later they had successfully lost the Draugr and the route back as well, they were probably miles away from the rimed room and that strange central aperture filled with all those bizarre chains and the smell of distant smoke. Now they were sat in a grubby little broom cupboard freezing to death, whatever was keeping the Fimbulwinter chill outside apparently didn¡¯t apply to the whole structure equally as they had run through spots of both hot and cold getting here.

    ¡°¡­Anyone seen the food?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got¡­ a bit¡­ like enough for stew I guess?¡±

    ¡°Better than nothing¡­ please tell me someone took the water?¡±

    ¡°What kind of fumbling child you ya take me for? Of course, I grabbed the water!¡±

    ¡°Ok¡­ so stew works right?¡±

    Erika decided that dissociating on the floor wouldn¡¯t work and reluctantly swung up into a sitting position, but nothing more than that. Every part of her ached, the expedition had been scatter, her lover was missing, most of the group she had been pseudo-leading were dead or lost¡­ she didn¡¯t feel very energetic.

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    Watching glumly as Bjorn swung an honest to the god¡¯s cauldron down from his back and began to make stew Erika counted the survivors, the survivors of the survivors in fact as they didn¡¯t know if anyone else from the expedition was still alive, anyway the count didn¡¯t take much time. Eleven expeditionaries were all that was left, Bjorn and two of his rangers, Solvor and three of Silvermane¡¯s agents, three of what used to be Ranald¡¯s veteran delvers before he died and finally, Erika.

    Erika watched as a fire was made, built from twigs and tinder kept in the rangers¡¯ pockets apparently, strips of salted meat and root vegetables thrown in with the water and a handful of spices that Bjorn produced. Solvor came alive a bit as the smell permeated the room and began to pull pieces of twin and gears out of her backpack, a moment later and she started setting up¡­ something around the doorway, Erika wasn''t a veteran sure but she wasn''t stupid, it was obviously some kind of alarm trap. Luckily the cupboard was jotun sized really, if it was a human one a fire and a trap wouldn¡¯t be safe that close together, as it was the jotun cupboard was so large it could fit a house in it. Plenty of room for Erika to stretch out even with the ten other survivors, a roaring fire and all the taught ropes and¡­ were those poisoned blades? Erika leant forwards slightly and watched as Solvor slotted in¡­ yes poison blades, she could see the sticky purple residue on their edges, nasty.

    Thankfully the fire lit up the room enough to see properly so Erika could do the only thing which promised to soothe her injured spirit, look at her loot. Reaching into one of the larger pockets in her cloak of office she pulled out the book she had taken from the warg gothi, any sort of divine power in wargs was rare, very rare, wargs only lived a maximum of twenty years so few even amongst the bringers of twilight, bothered to empower them.

    The book was heavy, Erika had noticed before of course but still, this thing was heavy. She didn¡¯t think it was just silver embossed anymore and opening the first page confirmed it. Erika smiled disbelievingly; it was made from silver! Pure silver! This thing in her hands could buy half a city! Even the pages were silver leaf, the front and back cover were pure silver plates and its spine was a solid silver bolt. Even in the weak light it shone, white and bright and pure¡­ of course the Warg had ruined it, into the delicate silver wafer pages the warg had carved the Runes of Loki, sharp and jagged and dripping with poison and treachery, even still and dim they felt hateful.

    Each rune took up an entire page and, despite the brutality of the runes themselves, Erika could acknowledge that the warg apparently did good detailed worked. The thin pages weren¡¯t broken through but instantly just lightly traced. A good dozen pages had runes which felt¡­ dead to Erika, blackened as if by fire without flame, they must have been the rune the Gothi used in their battle as well as the runes it had used to raise its fellow wargs from the dead into draugr.

    But that wasn''t all the book, the runes occupied only half of the pages, the rest were unmarred, the Warg obviously hadn''t gotten around to carving them yet.

    Written in the same strange dots as the wall art, tiny evenly spaced dots that formed pictures and words alike, it was¡­ a galdraz!?

    The story, the saga, the words, and thoughts that made up a spell! These were¡­ rare¡­ rarer than rare! Even in the new era, Helsdottir had founded the first and only school for vitki near the end of her life but even with that increase in the ranks of the vitki few of them could write a galdraz. It seemed impossible for normal people to understand that, just because you knew a spell didn¡¯t mean you could write it down, most of magic was instinct and feeling after all.

    A galdraz could only be made by a master, in the fifth circle at least, but this was a whole book of them?! Each page was covered in careful dots plotting the complex ideas and stories that formed the heart of Galdr.

    Erika stared in awe, compared to the writing even the fact it was a lamb¡¯s weight in pure silver was damn near worthless, forget buying a street¡­ a galdraz compendium like this one, found in the wilderness, with spells that might not be recorded even in Helsdottirs hall?

    There wasn¡¯t enough gold in the world, this was the power to topple kingdoms in her hands, definitely enough power to lay some disquiet dead to rest.

 Empty - 02

    The book wasn''t from the tower.

    It had taken Erika half a day just to figure that out and she¡¯d only managed it by luck. The runes were a different dialect to¡­ Erika realised she didn¡¯t actually know what normal runes were called, she¡¯d only ever heard them referred to as runes, nearly everyone wrote the same runes after all as that¡¯s what the Aesir used¡­ but this was a slight variation, she¡¯d read about them in her mother¡¯s library from ancient tablets, cultures that got cut off by Ragnar?k and forgot the meaning of the runes bit by bit.

    Anyway, that wasn''t important, what was important was the galdraz¡­ or spellbook as Bjorn insisted on calling it, she wasn''t one of those weak sorcerers the damn Vracians used! No self-respecting vitki called them spells, they were galdr!... it was old sure but not as old as the tower, from somewhere in the southern mountains near the rim of the world, one of the empires that had flourished, after Ragnar?k of course, all galdr was since Helsdottir had only discovered the vitki arts during the twilight and the burning¡­

    Again distracted¡­ Erika knew why her thoughts were chasing themselves around and around, even now she was getting thirsty, the soup had been delicious but it had been finished hours ago, now everyone was sat around pretending not to feel the hunger closing in, it would be days before it was bad of course but it was inevitable here, inside this damn tower, no foraging was even possible, no rain fell no animals roamed no planets grew, the tunnels below the rimed room had moss on the walls but all that was far away, behind an army of the dead.

    So here she was sat, in the corner of a smoky room, watching men and women try to look tough as they slowly panicked, Bjorn was keeping things together well especially now that he was acting like a proper leader instead of foisting the job off on Erika, but she didn¡¯t know how long that would last. Of course, they could leave and go scavenging but then what? They weren¡¯t even sure if the draugr were still looking for them and if they weren¡¯t¡­ where would they find food? Unless they ran into another warg den there wouldn¡¯t be any in an ancient sealed tower, and even the wargs hadn''t had water barrels, in fact Erika wasn''t sure how the wargs had been getting water¡­

    She reached down and leafed through the silver tome for a moment then smiled a grim smile. Ah she thought as she found a well-used permanent rune of water on the back cover. Obviously, Erika couldn¡¯t use it, a Gothi could leave traps and locks in the runes they carved and a Gothi of Loki? Probably more trap than rune knowing them and even if it wasn''t it was useless without a Gothi of their own to retool the rune to accept commands from people other than Wargs and Erika couldn¡¯t do that, like at all, vitki couldn¡¯t interact with the runes the way that Gothi could, or even as well as normal people could, galdr was apart from the runes not a part.

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    Erika smiled at the witty turn of phrase then frowned as she realised, she might already be losing her mind to dehydration.

    Luckily that probably wasn''t what was happening and even if it was Erika would be the last to die, a dubious honour sure but an honour all the same, since she could heal herself through the thirst somewhat, it was a temporary fix of course, even more than healing magic was normally temporary but it would help.

    Erika realised she was genuinely wondering which of her allies she might be willing to eat after they had torn each other apart with starvation madness, slapping her cheek as hard as she could Erika let the pain flood her veins with the white fire of adrenaline and force her mind to work properly.

    If they were getting out of this they would need food and water, the best chance they had at finding those was quick and dirty scavenging runs, which might attract the draugr, which meant she needed to be at her best to fight them, which was why she was studying the damn book!

    The galdraz sat there on her lap as she leafed through the pages again, idly noting which galdr were engraved within. A galdr, as in the saga that activated it, were very complex stories that spanned multiple pages, many of which that damn gothi warg had despoiled to carve its primitive loki worshiping runes. Erika reluctantly discarded every galdr that showed even the chance of damage to its saga, she didn¡¯t have much time and she could only afford to bet on a sure thing.

    The book was split into eight separate sections strangely enough, not the nine and one of the circles or the seven of the sections which corresponded to the seven part of the Sal (and therefor the seven types of galdr), the galdr within the pages were spread out seemingly without rhyme of reason although Erika was bright enough to realise that if an ancient master vitki had written this book then she probably did have a reason to lay it out like this, Erika just couldn¡¯t find it.

    Half of a galdr she recognised, the beginning of the Make Flame a first circle galdr used by Bane Bringers which she wouldn¡¯t be able to even attempt to learn for many years, then it swung into a few pieces of a fifth circle galdr so complex it genuinely made Erika¡¯s eyes water to look at it, constellations of runes and dots and shapes all twirling around each other to try to explain in the material world something that wasn''t of it. In the end she gave up on understanding the damn book and just looked for 2<sup>nd</sup> circle Life Shaper galdr, she found three in the end. Skeletal Spike, Wicked Tail and Feral Fury all good galdr for sure but learning a galdr was¡­ intense and difficult, Erika might not even be able to manage it but if she did then at best she would manage one.

    Looking around at the silent solemn delvers Erika sighed and buckled down to study.

 Interlude - Cracks in the Ice

    ¡°ITS PUSHING US BACK¡±

    That was Skarda or Skard, Kara couldn¡¯t tell which but she could tell they were desperate, the fear in their voices could be heard even over the ringing of the battlefield.

    The enemy groaned and roared as it sensed victory approaching, even after a week of fighting these thing''s Kara didn¡¯t know what they were, the others had started calling them ¡°dregs¡± and the name stuck but it still didn¡¯t describe them. Twisted and permanently hunched over but twice the height of a human, their skin puckered by the scars of disease, their long oily ropy hair their only clothing, the dregs lumbered forwards in their strange hunched waddle lashing out with filthy fingernails the length of a man¡¯s forearm trying to drag in the delvers then tear them apart.

    Luckily, they were as stupid as they were ugly, Sigurn should have killed their chieftain by now and the rear-guard hadn''t signalled for help which meant they hadn''t even tried flanking the delver assault team.

    Katlin struck a Rune which released a wave of warm air that crackled with the Aesir¡¯s power, everyone it touched found their veins filled with fire and that their muscles burst with energy again as if they were fresh to the fight.

    Kara stepped out of the way of a grasping limb and, with her renewed might, slammed her hammer down onto the elbow snapping it like a bundle of dry twigs. As the dreg tumbled forwards Kara brought her hammer back up, the second striking plate slamming into the dregs chin and snapping its head back, with a brisk step forwards kara got under its guard and performed the Twin Anvil art, they couldn¡¯t take that from her and she¡¯d refused to throw it away herself. Her muscles moved like this then like that as within her, her beast directed the power, a jarls art.

    The hammer blazed blue as it struck with a loud crack, the moment it did the hammer bucked in Karas grip as a second crack echoed around the room, the blue light rushing forwards into the dregs body. The first blow shattering the rib cage and the second pulverising the organs Kara stepped smartly back and watched as the twisted aberration fell in a twitching dying heap. Cracking its skull in to put it out of its misery Kara turned around and was satisfied to see that her squad was well on their way to dealing with the other three, one was down and blind thanks to Reidar, Gunhilda was going at the second like a woodpecker drilling through a mighty tree, the third had been backed into a corner by Skarda and Skard with their long pikes which it was batting at as Helga opened up its stomach with her poleaxe.

    ¡°Over!¡± Kara shouted as she charged, Gunhilda broke from her marital trance long enough to bend at the waist and slam her axe down onto the dregs foot, locking it in place with an agonised bellow as Kara slammed a foot down onto her back, propelling herself into a rising leap before crashing down, all her armoured weight compounded by the velocity of her sprinting jump condensed into the point of her war hammer.

    The dreg didn¡¯t even get to wheeze before it died, organs pulped and bones broken. Kara had found that was the best way to kill these things, stab wounds didn¡¯t do much through their blubber and hide although enough long cuts did at least bleed them out.

    Speaking of which Kara noticed that Helga seemed to be done disembowelling hers, the dreg managed to put up a spirited fight for a few more moments but the twins had their pikes embedded deep in its hide and it died still pinned to the wall like a butterfly collected by some demented divine lepidopterist. A few moments later Skarda and Skard collapsed like puppets on cut strings, both visibly steaming in the cold air, Helga wasn''t doing much better. Whatever saga-kin she was made her stronger than a human but against the dregs it barely seemed to matter, she was bent double and panting, sweat pouring from her hair like a tiny waterfall.

    Gunhilda was doing better but that was mostly the runes on her armour and Reidar and Katlin were both nearly fresh, Kara thought for a moment then nodded, wiping the sweat from her own brow as well. They were still strong enough to reinforce the rear-guard if needed and it didn¡¯t look like it would be, besides if they stopped to rest this whole damn quest would take twice the time and Kara wouldn¡¯t let that happen, they needed to be faster.

    ¡°Everyone on your feet!¡± she shouted, causing one of the twins to jump with surprise, she couldn¡¯t tell which. ¡°I said GET UP! Everyone follow me we¡¯re meeting up with the rear-guard and folding up to Sigurn¡¯s position, get those legs moving!¡±

    Grumbling and with bad grace the delvers scrambled upright and formed a rough line behind Kara as she stormed along the corridor. Since they arrived, they had discovered that the damn tower was nearly impossible to navigate primarily because all the corridors were identical, sized for a jotun and covered in swirling dotted art, a few had what looked like braziers in them or other ancient metalwork all worn by passing ages until they became unrecognisable lumps.

    In the end copious amounts of chalk had let the remnants of the expedition¡¯s scouts create at least the outline of a map with the rest of them relying on the big red chalk X¡¯s that indicated corridors they shouldn¡¯t go down and a big blue triskelion when they should, it wasn''t elegant but it was certainly practical.

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    Hustling past two more triskelion¡¯s, up and down more of those damn identical corridors, they finally saw the flashes of light and clanking of armour that meant they had met up with the rear-guard. Kara stepped out first and got a respectful nod from her opposite number in the other team, a moment later and the two groups had combined and started moving faster, spears at the front with heavy shields behind them, the Gothi and the handful of gunners they still had staying at the back. Most of the thunderarms and the best shots had been with Alvis¡­ wherever he was now, if he was even still alive, if any of them were¡­

    Kara tried to force her mind back on track but the thoughts circled her awareness like wolves around a dying elk. They were all still alive, all the others groups, everyone¡­ especially her¡­ Kara was sure that Erika had to be alive, she had to¡­ Kara wouldn¡¯t accept anything else.

    The stench of blood hit jarl¡¯s nose like a physical blow jerking her out of her revery and pushing her back into her battle mindset, the flickering lights, and eviscerated bodies¡­ all dregs¡­ they must have caught up with Sigurn.

    Pumping her legs Kara swept the group up in her wake, passing columns and cloisters that had been set up in the mirrored corridors, crude shelters that had been clawed into the walls, hides and bones used to make yurts and blankets and even a few firepits, Kara tried not to look at what the dregs had been roasting over those fires, or what they had used as fuel.

    Every passage they passed through became more and more cluttered and unrecognisable, shallow recesses in the walls became fully carved alcoves and then whole rooms, roughly carved by the claws of the misshapen dregs, with curtains of leather and fur as doors and even the occasional trap, long strings made from what looked like the dregs own hairs strung with bones that jingled and gnashed together if they were disturbed. Obviously, the dregs hadn''t bothered making any real traps, nothing to injure or kill or even capture, probably sure that they were the most dangerous things on this floor.

    Finally, they reached the end of the long trail of bloodstains and corpses, Kara had no idea what this had been originally, probably another of those damn corridors sure but it might have been something else. Carved into a cavern as far across as a dozen halls stack next to each other, a hundred paces or more end to end. It was filled with crude structures but Kara didn¡¯t bother even looking at them, she only had eyes for their king.

    A throne of skulls and bones sat in the centre of the room, stained with old blood it towered over even the tallest Jotunkin Kara had ever seen and sat in it, nearly overflowing from its confines, was a dreg. Five times the height of the rest of his kin and noticeably less¡­ twisted. Its skin looked like the skin of a man and on its brow it bore a crown of crudely hammered gold, by its side was a stone sword obviously ripped from the hands of some ancient statue (in fact it still had one of the hands around its pommel) but the king hadn''t even gotten the chance to use it.

    Right through its heart, as small as a wasp¡¯s sting to a man of Midgard, was a great sword and holding the sword was Sigurn. The blade, which should have barely scratched the king¡¯s skin, hissed loudly enough for Kara to hear even from this vast distance and plumes of red smoke flowed upwards from the wound.

    Finding out she was Chosen made a lot of a sense, Kara wasn''t sure how even a normal silver rank fought but the chosen of Thor¡¯s son? The inheritor of Mjolnir? They fought with lighting and lots of it.

    Sigurn seemed to be fishing around the king¡¯s waist and, as Kara watched, she managed to liberate a pouch, probably a small one as far as the king had been concerned despite it being three times bigger than Kara herself.

    As the group arrived the pouch was hurled down onto the cold stone where the rest of Sigurn¡¯s group fell upon it, hacking the sides open like a pack of rabid rats and scampering inside, a heartbeat later they emerged again and started to drag giant sized coins out and onto the floor. Kara and her party arrived just in time to hear Sigurn arguing with Hroarr, a former huscarl and her right hand since they arrived in this ancient tower.

    ¡°¡­hy would be have that in his pouch?¡±

    ¡°I keep snacks in my pouch!¡±

    ¡°Well, he didn¡¯t! All that¡¯s in it is gold coins, jotun sized and very old.¡±

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Sigurn seemed to consider kicking the king¡¯s corpse again but in the end she settled for leaping up and retrieving her sword then bounding down onto the ground. Kara tried not to stare as Sigurn casually leapt the height of a good dozen stacked houses without even a run up, was this a chosen thing? Or a silver rank thing?

    Sigurn seemed to notice Kara for the first time and gave her a brisk nod. ¡°Good you¡¯re on time, kill any survivors then follow us. Katlin you¡¯re with me.¡±

    Kara gestured for her exhausted followers to rest and watched as Katlin peeled off from the group and followed after Sigurn, they both stepped behind the king dregs giant throne and began to pull up the crude rug carpet that had been thrown over the stone. Below the moulding leather and fur was a stream, an actual stream of water, in a purpose cut channel twice the width of a street.

    The water was a foul brown colour, filled with¡­ things Kara didn¡¯t want to look at, upstream and further behind the kings throne was something that looked like a butchers shop and the offal seemed to have been poured into the water.

    Sigurn smashed the towering tables with a gesture and Katlin began to work, humming and chanting and chiselling she carved runes along the edges of the stream until, maybe five minutes later, there was a sharp crackling¡­ sound? Feeling? Kara wasn''t sure, it felt like her bones had snapped into a different position a few metres back from her body and twisted upside down but also stayed in place all at once.  As Kara watched a straight line was drawn across the stream, on one side the water was filthy brown and black and on the other it was crystal clear which began to flow downstream, chasing away the brackish black filthy, it would still be a few hours before it could be drunk, after all it needed to clean out the stuff stuck to the bottom of the channel, but it was clean again.

    Sigurn looked at it for a moment then nodded, without another word she strode from the room and the expedition scrambled at her heels.

 Empty - 03

    Skeletal Spike was a difficult galdr to learn, double that when learnt in a cupboard and slowly dying of thirst, but Erika was sure she had the outline down, the way to¡­ think/move the edges, Feral Fury was easier and she was pretty sure she could cast that now, Wicked Tail was in-between the others but it used some of the same saga and story that Skeletal Spike did which might help her develop it properly. Erika had studied a few of the third circle galdr as well but none of them made much sense to her, she vaguely understood their outlines but they seemed to require a layer of motion she could not provide, yet.

    As a side note all this studying was helping her ignore the argument.

    ¡°¡­ there is no glory in this! Dying in a cupboard! None of us will see Valhalla unless we take the risk, is it really that much worse than dying of thirst?¡±

    ¡°What if the draugr follow you back here? What if they find the rest of us who don¡¯t want to die!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll die anyway when the supplies run out!¡±

    ¡°The Vitki can fix that¡­ I''m sure of it!¡±

    Erika pointedly didn¡¯t look up; they¡¯d been having this argument around and around for ten minutes now. Solvor and Bjorn were staying out of it but that didn¡¯t seem to matter, the one in favour of leaving was a woman called Ari, a middle-aged firebrand with an axe as big as her, the more cautious was Olaf Olafson, the fifth of his name as he liked to point out, a calm man of the jarl caste who was one of the Silvermane agents attached to the expedition.

    Both of them made pretty good points, but Erika thought they were both equally far from the truth, as it was, they had heard nothing for half a day now, not a scrape of stone or footstep, there was no horde of draugr waiting to rip them apart, instead there was just the normal miles and miles of identical cold corridor without any food or water.

    Which did not sound enticing.

    ¡°Coward filth!¡±

    ¡°Brutal monster!¡±

    Ah they were squaring up for a fist fight, Erika had know this sort of thing was coming¡­ was she supposed to eat one of them if they killed each other? She didn¡¯t know the code of conduct for cannibalism. A moment later the first fists flew which forced Bjorn and Solvor to step in, Solvor simply boxed Olaf Olafson in with her body glared him down but Bjorn had doubled Ari over with a haymaker to the gut.

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    As they started some sort of inspiring speech Erika turned back to her books, she was hoping to understand some of the 3<sup>rd</sup> circle galdr, even if only a little, but the saga within wasn''t anything she could understand. First circle was¡­ flat for want of a better word, second wasn''t much harder but these galdr seemed like they expanded into the pages themselves, Erika had no idea what the tenth circle would look like, a small world in itself for every galdr?

    Oh they appeared to have finished up, Bjorn and Ari were talking side by side and now Ari was heading to the door¡­ oh dear was this a mutiny? Erika really didn¡¯t want to become a cannibal; she didn¡¯t even have any seasonings.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna risk it!¡±

    Ok not a mutiny then, wonderful. Erika reached up to her back, on the inside of her cloak of office and stashed the galdraz in the largest hidden pocket she had, the shining silver was just barely visible through the worn out fabric but it was better than holding the damn thing so she let it slide for now.

    A few minutes later found Erika skulking along at the end of an undulating mass of silent delvers, weapons held high and ready, creeping forwards step by step. ¡°Only one light.¡± Bjorn had said so they moved in a single faint circle of light.

    The usual banter or complaints was nowhere to be heard, only silence and shallow breathing as they crept along. Erika for her part was realising how odd it was that they found a cupboard at all, most of this vast structure was composed of identical passages, the exact same organically curved stone and dotted designs on the walls, but this area was different. They¡¯d stumbled onto it randomly but the halls were noticeably smaller, but still larger than any but the grandest human halls, the stone was rougher and the dot artwork was entirely absent. In the end Erika could only conclude they had found the servants quarters and the domestic passages which implied one thing, if servants frequented these tunnels once, they would have a kitchen nearby.

    She whispered this up the line of delvers and watched the drawn faces fill with hope as they passed the information up to Bjorn who nodded but stayed silent.

    It turns out they did have a kitchen, down a dozen more corridors at least, one that was stone cold and empty, not even dust left to coat the pots and pans. Spreading out the group opened giant sized draws with ropes and hammers, pulled open the pantry and turned over the pots finding nothing, at least that was what it seemed like until Solvor raised a hand for silence, after a moment of quiet she turned to the group and beamed.

    ¡°Water¡­ I can hear water running¡­ over here.¡±

    Erika had never seen people move as fast as the delvers did, without magic enhancement at least, the mass of people descended like a horde of locusts onto the wall Solvor had pointed at, tapping bricks and running knives down cracks.

    ¡°Here!¡± That was Olaf Olafson again, he hadn''t joined the rush but had instead gone further down the pantry and found it curved, the false perspective gave an impression of an end where instead it continued in a loop around the back of the kitchen where¡­

    ¡°WATER!¡±

 Empty - 04

    Surging forwards, the men and women fell upon the stream that was embedded in the floor? Erika wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it, carved stone made an oblong channel that poked into the room under the adjacent wall, the water was clean and clear but Erika saw blackish gunk, staining the bottom of the¡­ indoor river?

    She didn¡¯t bother saying anything as the others drank, thirst would kill quicker than gunk, but she made sure to drink from her waterskin alone, as a life shaper Erika had a rather distressing understanding of the realities of diseases which made her disinclined to risk even this, also she wasn¡¯t sure she trusted it yet¡­ a river of clean water appearing right when they needed it? Sure, they¡¯d had to look for it and it was in a logical place but that still didn¡¯t seem normal.

    ¡°You not hovering a drink lady vitki?¡±

    She didn¡¯t seem to be the only one that thought that either, as Solvor was suddenly stood next to her with a studiously blank expression, Erika considered doing politic for a half second then didn¡¯t because she hated any sort of double speak.

    ¡°This is way to convenient and I think it might be a trap, so I''m not triggering it so I survive.¡± Remembering some of her mothers¡¯ lessons on how not to offend people Erika hurried to add. ¡°If you die a horrifying painful death, I promise to try to find a pyre and burn your corpse¡­ but if presented with no other option and if it¡¯s before you start rotting, I will eat your corpse, but i''ll try to burn the organs at least... if i can.¡±

    Solvor looked at her face somehow even more blank than before. ¡°That is¡­ kind of you?¡±

    ¡°I try.¡± Said Erika modestly, she then added. ¡°Also, I just integrated like three galdr all at once and I think my brain isn''t working properly.¡±

    Solvor suddenly seemed to come alive. ¡°Oh, thank the gods I thought you were serious.¡±

    I was Erika didn¡¯t say, she wasn¡¯t dying here and if survival meant eating a corpse she would, but it was still true that her head felt floaty and vague ever since she crammed three new sagas worth of magic and emotions into it, she wasn¡¯t even sure if two of them were castable yet but it was better to try and fail she thought¡­ although that might be the headache talking.

    ¡°Is this a commotion thing for vitki?¡± Solvor asked, Erika wasn''t sure if she was being polite or looking for weaknesses.

    ¡°You mean the learning new galdr thing? No not really, most vitki learn all they need before they become journeywomen but¡­ well like Alvis said, I¡¯m only an apprentice, I really shouldn¡¯t be away from my teacher yet.¡±

    ¡°ROOOOOOOOOOAR.¡±

    ¡°I really really shouldn¡¯t be away from her yet.¡± Erika quipped, she couldn¡¯t help it, terror made her do that reflexively. Of course, Solvor wasn''t paying attention to her, unlike a stage play people don¡¯t stand still and listen to your smart comments, instead most people react to the roar of the giant monster thing that was somewhere nearby.

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    But where, that was the question, the air smelt of nothing but the cold tingle of fresh ice water, the echoes bounced the sound to-and-fro obscuring its direction, by Hela they weren¡¯t even in a corridor! They were in the back of some strange kitchen things basement pantry. Where would a big monster be lurking?

    The delvers had organised perfectly of course, even tired and hungry the experience of a veteran shone through, a shield wall with axes held high backed up by spears and a few thunderarms with a pocketful of slugs between them. Platted hair and wiry beards still dripping water which wetted leather and iron, buckles and belts, drip drip drip went the drops falling onto the cold floor. Nothing else moved in the stillness, the sound of the water the only noise, even the echoes of the roar had faded away.

    As the moments passed tense muscles relaxed and straight pikes were lowered, a few people even did that little chuckle and head rub that speaks of bashfulness at an overreaction. The water splashed and dripped as people moved again, Bjorn stalked up to the pantry door and glanced around the doorframe then turned back to us and began to shake his head¡­ and froze.

    ¡°BEHIND!¡± He screamed and hurled his axe, Erika watched frozen as it spun through the air over her head and hit something, something which screamed and roared at the pain. Thunderarms roared but hit only stone, the shield wall tried to pivot in place but tangled with itself and half collapsed and Erika, driven by instinct and fear, dived to the ground just a moment before something huge and heavy made a whistling sound as it swung through the air her head had just occupied. Behind her was¡­ a giant? Twisted and misshaped, its limbs had too many joints and no symmetry, one almost a tentacle and the other a gnarled half calcified club, its stomach bulged with starvation and its skin was covered in warts¡­ and water? Fresh water?

    Erika cursed and unleashed a wave of acid which scoured the creatures face and sent it tumbling back screaming.

    ¡°IT CAN SWIM!¡± Shouted Bjorn who had come to the same conclusion Erika had, this weird malformed giant had been IN THE RIVER! It had been swimming though the water that came in under the wall, it wasn''t unexpected that it was deep but that deep? How did a monster fit in it?

    The roaring thing swung its many fingered club like limb through the air back and forth driving the delvers back as its long thin arm lashed out like a whip and grabbed a man by his head and crushing his skull with a sickening crack.

    A moment later it screamed as Bjorn¡¯s axe bite into the sickeningly flexible limb, carving a strip of flesh and twisted fingers off. It stumbled backwards but despite its monstrous appearance even Erika could tell it had training, Aesir damned training! As it fell back it brought its club hand up into a crude but recognisable boxing pose. Bjorn¡¯s follow up blow glanced off the gnarled bone and leathery skin as it punched repeatedly, using its iron hard striking surfaces as a shield.

    Erika took a deep breath and focused, this was a perfect test! Ok well not technically, really it should be quieter, but this malformed giant was just the kind of thing that needed a heavier combat galdr to kill¡­ although?

    Maybe?

    Possibly?

    Could she, do it? Her soul had expanded over these days of traveling and fighting, clashing with thing''s she never would have fought before, seeing things she never though to see, what if her soul WAS robust enough? What if she could circle up?

    The group would win either way¡­ she was gonna try it, it was stupid and impatient but damn if it worked¡­ then Erika might get a saga of her own one day, not many vitki hit the third circle before its due time, mostly it took ten years for each circle up until most vitki stopped getting much better around fifty and the fifth, third in her twenties? Her mother couldn¡¯t hate her if she did that!

    Erika flung herself back into her memories, she grabbed the saga, she comprehended the words, the deeds, the little notations of emotion and attitude. She¡¯d tried studying quite a few of the third circle galdr but only one fully, only one to comprehension, and even then only for a few hours¡­ but¡­

    ¡°[Twisted Skin]¡± Erika mumbled and trust her hand forwards.

 Empty - 05

    The lights flickered and somewhere something went bang as Erika felt hot then cold then hot again rushing in waves all up her arm.

    It was working! She would be a legend! She w¡­ why was she upside down?

    Erika blinked blearily up at the inverted world, her ribs ached and her hand stung¡­ what had just¡­ had that monster just slapped her?!?! HOW DARE IT! Although she technically should be to angry since it might have saved her, she recognised the feeling inside her, she¡¯d nearly drowned her well again¡­ and this time it might have been permanent.

    Not ready to circle up, not a legend at all Erika thought to herself morosely as she flicked her hand the other way, her well pulsed in her chest but she wrestled it down, it wasn¡¯t drowned yet and neither was she¡­ even if she couldn¡¯t be one she would act like a proper journeywoman.

    [Skeletal Spike] activated, the saga in her blood completed, she forced herself through the visualisation the creation the emotion and the final execution and cast her first 2<sup>nd</sup> circle pure combat galdr.

    A lance of bone, looking like a sharpened spine, materialised in the air with a flash of golden odium. A moment passed and the galdr caught in the weft of reality, the bone flung forwards with a cracking tearing sound, moving so fast it rent the air just like a slug from a thunderarm. The pointed iron hard bone, easily as long as Erika¡¯s whole arm, slammed into the malformed giants gut plunging deep into its organs and tearing them apart before exploding out of the creatures back and bouncing off the opposite wall.

    ¡°See that! That is the power of the¡­ oh crap it¡¯s still alive!¡±

    Erika threw herself over, smashing her arm and shoulder painfully into the stone floor, narrowly avoiding the long straight punch of the twisted monster. Once again it showed actual experience, training? Who trained a giant monster?! It had applied pressure to its wound using some sort of clamp from its rope belt and now it fought defensively, ducking and dodging with light feet, using her allies as shields.

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    Erika thought for a moment then let her intuition guide her, gathering power inside her she hurled another skeletal spike but this one with a deliberate curve, the sharpened spine shattered on the stone with a sickening screech far away from the giant and her teammates, but she had been right, the monster moved away from the galdr and kept its eyes fixed on her¡­ which didn¡¯t help it when three pikes and a dagger rammed into its back up to the hilts, howling in rage it turned on the half-forgotten delvers around it, fists flashing and twisted mouth roaring it stumbled back and forth as more blades flashed, the veteran delvers adapting quickly began to hack away at its joints brining it down to the floor, it waved its arms back and forth, all training forgotten in its pain.

    As it lay there, its clawed nails scouring the floor as it sought to catch any delver it could find, Bjorn ran up and, with a mighty leap, he landed upon its back. Running long the slanted spine of the monster he slammed a heavy boot into its shoulder blade and raised his axe over his head which he slammed home with a thunderous blow.

    where Bjorn struck it in the neck with his axe. Bjorn was built nearly entirely from muscle as far as Erika could see but even his great bulging arms couldn¡¯t behead the creature cleanly, it whined and writhed and screamed almost like a person as one blow became two then three then ten then, finally, the keening stopped as its spine gave under the sharpened steel and its head rolled away across the floor.

    ¡°¡­ is it dead?¡± Asked Olaf Olafson, his shield still raised.

    Ari scoffed. ¡°Of course, it is! How many things can live without a head?¡±

    As the tension drained and weapons lowered Erika felt compelled to grant her knowledge to the people, either that or she was feeling a concussion. ¡°Well¡­ quite a few actually, several forms of Lokispawn have been known to possess decentralised brains and trolls of course are able to reattach their own heads after battle if necessary, their symbiont keeping them fighting till then. There are some unconfirmed claims that the¡­¡±

    ¡°OK!¡± Bjorn yelped, cutting Erika off for some reason, as the delvers descended on the giant¡¯s body, like a swarm of hungry ants they tore it apart, carving through its joints with axes and splintering its bones with hammers until nothing solid remained just piles of awful offal and gore.

    ¡°¡­that should do it!¡± Bjorn said with a wide smile, blood spattering his face. ¡°Now¡­ we need to move.¡±

 Empty - 06

    ¡°What? Why?!¡± Erika asked, still reeling from the pulse of power that had rang through her body, normally you couldn¡¯t lean galdr that quickly¡­ she wasn¡¯t sure how she had but it didn¡¯t feel good at all.

    ¡°The noise lady vitki, the ravening and the thunderarms flinging it will have echoed for miles!¡± Solvor said, her voice sounded even more scratching and breathy than usual and Erika noticed her nursing her ribs. ¡°Any other malformed in here will steer right for us, hoping to deviate easy prey.¡±

    ¡°Oooh.¡± Erika said, she really hadn''t thought of that, maybe the headache was to blame? Slapping her cheeks with her hands Erika managed to scramble upright on her second attempt and forced her thoughts to speed up.

    ¡°Right right¡­ OH I saw an offshoot just before we got the kitchen, anything heading here will have to go past, we¡¯ll see them before they see us¡­ that¡¯s good right?¡±

    ¡°You mean that right hand turn? That could work boss.¡± Olaf said to Bjorn who for his part was looking more thoughtful by the moment.

    ¡°You both sure you can find it?¡± He asked after a moment.

    Erika had gotten turned around in the endless identical corridors but she was still sure she¡¯d be able to at least get them close, ¡°mostly,¡± Erika admitted. ¡°I¡¯d be more confident if Olaf says he can?¡±

    ¡°Oh, definitely young miss.¡± Olaf said with a laugh. ¡°I spent years as a hunter for this little no named village back north, spent months in the deep woods all on my lonesome, a few corridors aren¡¯t gonna make me lost.¡±

    ¡°Good¡­ ok that¡¯s the plan, everyone follows you two and we get a good vantage point, we hide if anything powerful comes or ambush and break out if something weak shows up. Any objections?

    Erika realised Bjorn was talking to her and mentally kicked herself, she¡¯d forgotten the whole sort of kinda being the leader a bit, by the Aesir she wished Sigurn was back, now she was a good leader.

    ¡°Right yeah¡­ uh no complaints, yeah let¡¯s go with that.¡±

    Bjorn raised an amused eyebrow at her but otherwise kept quiet and got organising, first waterskins were refilled now that the giant contaminated water was agreed to have washed away, then Erika saw to the wounded (just a few bruises luckily although on man had managed to stab himself in the thigh with his own dagger), then packs were strapped on and weapons raised and the delvers set out, moving in a loose double lined column at a leisurely jog Erika was easily able to keep her spot at the front of the pack, directing the group back down the pantry passageway, across a large central room and then back up into a side passage she had only noticed by accident before. The way the doorway and the step framed the entrance caused an effect like a mild optical illusion, probably entirely unintentional Erika guessed but it made the wall seem flatter which stopped it standing out.

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    Bundling into the slightly two small passageway the delvers stacked themselves up tightly, Erika smelt the sweat and blood all around her and thought longingly of soap as more people moved past her in the tight press, elbowing themselves a place to stand in the line-up, Erika was once again thankful that she was a vitki and got to stand at the front, at least here she had a chance at getting clean air.

    ¡°Back off¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­elbows in my ribs!¡±

    ¡°Stop touching my hair!¡±

    ¡°Get your head out of my face!¡±

    ¡°Get those torches out!¡±

    ¡°Quiet!¡± Bjorn hissed, silencing the muttering just before it became mutiny or murder. In the pall of silence that followed Erika could hear something, distant and rapid footsteps.

    ¡°Not as heavy as that messed up giant.¡± Bjorn whispered over his shoulder, his head pressed right up the edge of the wall and his ear just poking over the lip. ¡°Light and heavy mixed together¡­ armour?... the footsteps are echoing but I think, the rhythm is familiar¡­ a formation?¡±

    ¡°That deformed monster had been trained, it used an actual boxing stance.¡± Erika reminded Bjorn who responded by running his hand through his red hair again and again as he visibly struggled with his thoughts.

    The thumping grew closer and closer, stomping echoed by metal clattering. The cold smooth stone rang with the sound, the darkness closing in around them now that the torches had been doused, or it should have been.

    Erika watched as, along the corridor, the darkness was cut apart and turned into angled shadows, whoever was approaching had light with them. Monsters could use lights of course but this seemed to smooth, a straight beam of light?

    ¡°It¡¯s a lantern.¡± Whispered Bjorn, resting his hand on the head of his axe. ¡°Could be smarter lokispawn, could be assassins, get ready.¡±

    Erika passed the whisper down the line which was echoed by spears and shields being near-silently set down and the now empty hands filled with long daggers, this would be a close and brutal tunnel fight.

    The light got brighter, the sound got louder, rhythmic and disciplined and accompanied by the distinctive tap tap sound of spear-butts hitting the ground in time. The rustling now seemed to fill the world, the delvers barely even letting themselves breathe, still and silent but taught like wires they waited in the darkness as the light grew brighter and brighter.

    A dark figure crossed in front of the passageway, backlit by the lantern their armour shone¡­ it was covered in bones and stained with blood, twisted and matted and plating their limbs.

    ¡°AHHHHHHHH!¡± Bjorn didn¡¯t wait any longer, he lunged for the figure axe swinging right for its neck. Behind her Erika felt the others rush in even as she wove together a galdr, the bolt of acid joined a handful of thrown knives in the air as Bjorn both stabbed and jinked to the side with the speed and skill of a true veteran, leaving a space for a firing line whilst still getting a blow in of his own.

    It was a textbook ambush, one that was unstoppable and utterly lethal against any enemy of the same weight class as the ambushers, which this one was not.

    The daggers were knocked from the air, Erika¡¯s galdr was dodged by a lazily fingers width, Bjorn¡¯s blade was smacked from his hand even as he was hefted up and used as a human shield. The lantern light filled the world as the passage was illuminated, the firing line now packed in, like rats in a trap, with nowhere to run.

    The figure dropped Bjorn and smiled; its teeth shone in the darkness with an oddly familiar gleam.

    ¡°I told you guys we¡¯d find them.¡± Said Sigurn.

 The Heart of the Matter

    ¡°Erika darling¡­ we need to move now.¡± Kara whispered, a smile in her voice.

    Erika made an unintelligible grumbling noise in return, refusing to remove her face from her lover¡¯s chest, her arms were slung around Kara¡¯s waist with Kara¡¯s arms up around Erika¡¯s much lower shoulders. Erika had thoroughly ignored all the other reunions and explanations in favour of running to Kara, who had done the same in return which made Erika very happy. Now apparently all the organising and strategy had been finished but she still didn¡¯t want to move.

    Before Kara could speak again thought Erika forced herself to let go, their would-be time for a more complete reunion later when they weren¡¯t still in possible danger, although a silver rank chosen of an Aesir like Sigurn was probably the most dangerous thing in this entire place.

    Regardless she didn¡¯t have much a choice, everyone was moving and Erika wasn''t staying behind, she noticed how the two sperate groups had seamlessly recombined which she was glad about, she really didn¡¯t want to be stuck as a leader. Bjorn was once more leading a larger group of rangers with Sigurn and the heavy infantry behind them, then the precious specialists like Erika and finally the main pack of irregulars.

    The ice rimed corridors stretched out head of them, lit torches casting long shadows, but they didn¡¯t seem as deep anymore, the jangling of chainmail and the clattering of bucklers and axes was an inspiring sound, something which buoyed up the spirits of all who heard it as they marched steadily away. Erika looked up and around Kara¡¯s arm, which was still gripping her shoulder protectively, and decided she had to actually ask some questions.

    ¡°...how many did you lose?¡± Erika was sure that wasn''t the most romantic question to ask but it was what had been bothering her, Sigurn¡¯s group looked reduced from what she expected and her own was¡­. Well¡­ the draugr had reaped a bloody toll on it, barely a handful left.

    ¡°Not many but still to many.¡± Kara said warmly as she scrutinised Erika¡¯s form, Erika would have blushed but this didn¡¯t seem to be a romantic assessment but more of a martial one.

    ¡°I''m fine, not a scratch.¡± Erika reassured, which did seem to calm Kara down a bit which let Erika swivel the conversation away from awkward topics.

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    ¡°So¡­ do you lot need us to share water?¡± A moment after she said it Erika found herself the centre of a good dozen penetrating gazes, with a laugh she unhooked her waterskin from her belt and handed it to Kara an action which the others soon began to mirror, her former group passing water to Sigurn¡¯s people who passed back jerky and hard rations, Erika hadn''t realised how hungry she was and wolfed it down.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Kara said wiping her lips on her hand. ¡°We managed to purify a sort of river¡­ but the dregs had been filling it for sewage and human blood so nobody wanted to risk a drink even after we cleared it out.¡±

    A few moments, some swearing and a little spitting later the rest of the group had distracted itself with moaning about the water leaving Erika free to question Kara more.

    As it turned out karas experiences were very familiar, having been swept up into the sky her portion of the expedition had landed in a huge empty frost rimed cavern of a room, however unlike Erika¡¯s group Sigurn had taken charge easily and lead them away from there, saying how it was likely a trap which Erika kicked herself for not thinking of, although nothing had happened right? Maybe that was just because of the age of this place though.

    In the end they had wandered back and forth for ages until they had found a giant-sized barracks which they had fortified and lived in, which had also given two of the scribes they had with them the chance to decipher the dots.

    ¡°Apparently this place? This huge stone temple? It¡¯s called the tower of memories.¡± Kara had told Erika, gesturing to the walls as she did so. ¡°Myths and legends lived here once, before the burning, a sage stretching back into the last age, back when They left Asgard.¡±

    ¡°An Aesir walked here?¡± Erika asked feeling almost faint.

    Kara nodded with solemn but sparkling eyes. ¡°An Aesir Eri, a real Aesir.¡±

    After that revelation the rest of the story was rather anticlimactic, apparently Sigurn¡¯s squad had camped out for a few days getting hungrier and hungrier before they moved their base again, here Kara got a bit evasive as she skirted around saying where they had moved to, she only said that the group had found out about the tainted water and the dregs (which apparently was the name for those weird twisted giant that Erika fought, she approved) before launching a raid on them, after killing their king and reactivating the runes which would purify the waterway they had been heading back to camp when they heard the sound of a dreg in battle, chasing after it to finish off any survivors when they ran into Erika and her group.

    Tramping along, boots ringing in unison, Erika found herself relaxing and not just because of Kara¡¯s presence, the darkness didn¡¯t hold as deep a fear with so many armed companions around her, rangers darting ahead and heavy warriors forming a clanking rear-guard it was oddly restful even though they were nearly jogging.

    The smell of cold air and giant blood had faded way, replaced with the scent of sweat and ash from their flaming torches as they marched on into the darkness.

 The Heart of the Matter 2

    ¡°It¡¯s a town?¡±

    It was a town, a shanty town admittedly but still a town, in the centre of the largest room Erika had ever seen. She¡¯d thought the rimed room was huge but this place made it look like the storage cupboard in an underfunded university, so vast and cavernous that its distant walls were lost not in fog but in the curvature of the realm itself,

    made from toppled over caravans and carts walled with taut tarpaulin and drapes with furs as rugs and mats. Fires burned in a dozen places, some tiny candleflames, others stout cooking fires and even one massive central bonfire which warmed the whole cavernous room.

    The air stank of droog and staleness but that wasn''t the first thing Erika noticed, what she noticed was the sky full of chains, layered chains¡­ just like she saw in the floor of that central room¡­ this was the base of the tower wasn''t it? The chains covered the only way directly up leaving an air hole through the tower with the chains as a layer of defence.

    Erika could hardly believe her eyes, she¡¯d followed along happily and ignored the impish smile of Kara whenever she asked where they were going, now she was shown this?! It was unbelievable, even when it was just setting off, they didn¡¯t have this many people, it was like a whole damn city! Which meant¡­.

    ¡°There are other people trapped in here with us?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± said Kara remarkably blas¨¦ as she helped Erika down the steep ramp into the central hollow, ¡°a bunch of people, a few other delvers who were probing the edge of the Fimbulwinter, a few nomads who got unlucky and a whole caravan that got lost in a snowstorm and wandered to close the tower but also, get this, there are some foreigners here!¡±

    Erika stared at Kara for a long moment. ¡°¡­ you mean from one of the other continents?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no,¡± Kara grinned. ¡°From the north¡­ and from a different realm.¡±

    Erika snarled. ¡°Vracians!¡± She nearly spat. ¡°It has to be, nobody¡¯s realm walked since they invaded, when their damned praetor destroyed the Bifrost shard.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right love.¡± Said Kara with a wink which neatly disarmed Erika¡¯s temper and turned her into a blushing mess instead. ¡°Vracians, a¡­ legion? Maybe? Whatever they call it its more like a jarl and his huscarls, about ten of their soldiers and one of those weak talky senators that leads them in a weird dress.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re called a toga.¡±

    Erika and Kara flinched as they noticed Sigurn, she hadn''t snuck up on them or even walked behind them, instead Sigurn stood directly in their line of sight but she had just¡­ Slipped into the background when she moved, not invisible just unnoticeable.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡±

    ¡°Silver rank,¡± Sigurn said simply which honestly did answer that. ¡°Follow us, closely please Eri, you especially need to be careful here.¡±

    Before Erika could ask the obvious question Sigurn had already vanished back to the front of the marching column, the loosening formation was yelled back together as they strode in lock step through the plain stone tunnels and out into the warm and lively shanty town. All around Erika could see people, new people! They had created lean-tos and yurts, tents and shrines and watch towers and what looked like a great central¡­ reservoir? into which flowed the stream they had been following, the water channel that they had walked beside had cut down the centre of the tunnel they just left, then across the tiled floor of this cast central room before it flowed into a pool underneath the huge mass of chains, that pool had been shallow once, intentionally shallow, but now it had been expanded upwards with buttresses of wood and bone to allow it to store more water, even as Erika watched people were carrying buckets back and forth with a frantic air.

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    As the expedition marched into the town cheers began to ring out from the surroundings, on top of the short walls and crude towers were lookouts and watchmen who were already pulling ropes and shifting logs, opening the great creaking door for the expedition.

    ¡°Its Silvermane¡¯s lot! They¡¯re back!¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t die? I thought they went after the dregs base camp? Nobody¡¯s ever survived that!¡±

    ¡°They do have a silver rank then¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ more of them than before?¡±

    ¡°Yeah definitely¡­. Look at them all!¡±

    ¡°What di¡­¡±

    The hubbub of conflicting and overlapping voices drowned itself out until it became nothing more than a single torrent of pure noise, the noise of people. Erika saw some of her group crying quit tears as they walked into the warm safety of the walls and basked in the presence of people again, it may only be a shanty town but it was a town, a place of safety and civilisation inside the tower and away from the cold and the monsters, that was worth more than appearances.

    ¡°Ah¡­ welcome welcome all of you to our little cozy home!¡±

    Right in front of the procession a man had¡­ appeared? He hadn''t moved like Sigurn in the background just popped up nearly instantly, rushing in from an alley by the look of it. He wore floor length robes of red and yellow diagonal stripes, his beard was long and oiled and his smile was wide and warm, his eyes weren¡¯t thought, they were like shards of ice.

    ¡°I am Ragnvald the Roamer! Captain of Commerce and Master of Mercantilism.¡± Erika could literally hear the capital letters, she had no idea how that worked, maybe he was a sagaborn? A real possibility for a merchant¡¯s son. ¡°I am so happy, so very happy, to see how many of you survived these terrible trials, I have no doubt that you have many needs now yes? We have mead and warmth aplenty for you all¡­ however nothing in life is free as I''m sure you know? Which is why I am more than happy to buy from you any of the trifles you have, old tools or dried rations, with purest hacksilver.¡±

    A few of the group glared at him, mostly Sigurn¡¯s, Erika¡¯s expedition just stared with incomprehension wondering what this weird man was talking about.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have any stuff,¡± said Olaf Olafson from where he had collapsed against a wall. ¡°We nearly died when draugr overran our wagons, we had to leave all our gear.¡±

    A shocked murmuring exploded into being and echoed around the caverns camp, a susurration of draugr started, faces twisted in fear and hands gripped hilts as contemplative eyes turned to the rickety scrap wood gate that had just been closed behind the Silvermane expedition.

    Ragnvald however, Erika wasn''t sure but for a moment, she saw an expression of contempt flash across his face like lightning across a storm before it settled into a perfect mask of fear and he too began to mutter about draugr.

    ¡°We need to get more defences up, proper fortifications¡­ with proper runes as well! We all know nothing else will stop the hungry dead.¡± Shouted a tall man in the crowd, fair skinned and covered in the angular tattoos of the nomads of the great clearing, he brandished a long-barbed spear in time with his words.

    ¡°We¡¯ve only got two Gothi! They can¡¯t create enough runes.¡± This man was short, fat and heavily armed but his voice had the smooth timbre of a professor.

    ¡°If we take the metal from the wagons and sharpen it, we can use it as a spiked fence? Even draugr should be slowed down by that right?¡± Said the tall man again.

    ¡°If the Gothi focus on the wall itself my guards can help haul extra material into the entrance tunnels,¡± Said Ragvald. ¡°We must all work together against the hungry dead Bors.¡±

    Bors, who apparently was the tall man or at least Erika thought so since he was the one who replied, snorted, and shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t even say anything yet silver scraper¡­ but in the spirit of cooperation my kith will help you, our priests can lay the god-words onto the defences and my other kin can help move them.¡±

    ¡°With a folk hero like Sigurn the Shining Star here as well¡­ we might just be fine.¡± Said the short man with a slightly put upon air. ¡°I suppose I''m the one who has to tell the Vracians aren¡¯t I? I''m the only one who you lot ever send down into their creepy camp after all.¡±

    ¡°You are the only one who speaks their language.¡± Said Ragvald, who was still eyeing up the expedition, as Erika watched him, she noticed his eyes were lingering on the bags and boxes they were carrying not their wounds or weapons which she would have expected.

    ¡°And they might have some sort of weird alchemy stuff that can help so see to it.¡± Said Bors authoritatively which prompted the short man, who Erika still hadn''t heard the name of, to roll his eyes and throw his hands up dismissively.

    Bors seemed about to reply but Ragvald cut him off with a twirl of his fur mantle and a raised finger. ¡°I think it is important that¡­¡±

    Unfortunately for Erika that was the moment that one of the crowds decided to but in, pointing at her and loudly yelling. ¡°WAIT, IS SHE A VITKI?!¡±

    Every eye turned towards Erika.

    ¡°Damn it all.¡± She muttered as the horde charged towards her.

 The Heart of the Matter 3

    ¡°Not enjoying your popularity?¡± Sigurn asked with that grating tone used by unfunny practical jokers and used car salesmen. Despite the words and the voice, she had been helpful so Erika refrained from throwing a ball of blood at her, it wouldn¡¯t hurt but that stuff stained like nobody¡¯s business.

    Erika was cowering in one corner of Sigurn¡¯s caravan, Sigurn¡¯s section of the expedition had kept their caravans of course since they hadn¡¯t been overrun by draugr and as a result they¡¯d been able to hall them down the corridors and into the shanty town at the heart of the tower of knowledge forming a new neighbourhood, for want of a better word, in the chaos.

    The shanty town was called ¡°Losthope¡± by the by, Erika had only found that out a few minutes ago, what an evocative name¡­ Erika already hated it, this place and everyone in it.

    ¡°Please just a moment of¡­ ah!¡±

    The desperate shout cut off into a pained whimper as one of the Silvermane guards slapped a pushy beggar back into the crowd, even though Losthopes neighbourhood tended to be somewhat self-contained and independent nearly half the town¡¯s population was now swarming the Silvermane section, kept at bay only by regular and severe violence inflicted by the heavily armoured delvers.

    ¡°¡­my husband¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­Please my son, my only son I¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­Get us out of¡­¡±

    Erika tried not the listen as the desperate screams rang out, luckily no one was pounding on the wagons wall but that was only because of the guards and their spears keeping them back. Her mother had warned her about this, she¡¯d seen a little of it on the journey here, once or twice, but not much and not this bad. Some people thought vitki could do anything, thought they were like little gods, limitless in power¡­ and explanation of the pillars or laws of galdr or the limits of the Sal and the well would all be ignored, they wanted all their problems fixed and they wanted them fixed with a snap of her fingers, instant and painless and without any effort on their part.

    Erika was sure most people would feel all sad about the crying and the wailing echoing through the wall but Erika found it just annoyed her.

    ¡°How much longer before they leave!¡± Kara hissed, she was being adorably protective which would usually make Erika swoon and sigh but she was currently busy corner cowering.

    ¡°Probably a few more hours about when they start getting hungry, they¡¯ll be back of course but soon enough the other leaders will be here, they¡¯ll move their people back and keep the crowd at bay and try to get to talk to you as their payment for doing so.¡±

    ¡°SCREW THEM!¡± Yelled Erika from her corner as she tried to worm her way further under the furniture, after a moment she yelped again as Sigurn pulled her up into the air and held her at eye level.

    ¡°Look it will be fine Erika, we¡¯ll keep you safe I promise, even if I didn¡¯t like you, we still need a vitki to get the treasure for Silverman, the scryers were definite on that, it can¡¯t be accessed without a vitki.¡±

    Erika hung in the air for a long moment then nodded. ¡°¡­ fine, fine, I just don¡¯t deal well with new people¡­ also I know more about the human body than you do and this is impossible¡­ like totally impossible, you are holding my full body weight at the end of your arm and your¡­ yeah you aren¡¯t even straining, human bodies don¡¯t work like that!¡±

    Sigurn grinned. ¡°You don¡¯t get to Silver rank without paying a life smith to give you a full suite of improvements, I didn¡¯t need any of the survivability ones what with being a chosen so I had her just give me strength, lots and lots of strength.¡±

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    Erika squinted and then tapped the muscles in Sigurn¡¯s arm, her knuckles nearly bruised. ¡°That¡¯s like iron!¡±

    ¡°She said I''m partially a¡­ lito trophy?¡±

    ¡°Lithotroph¡± Corrected Erika her mind racing. ¡°She managed that?... ok not important now but when we get back to civilisation you need to introduce me to her, making a human have iron bolstered muscles¡­ that¡¯s¡­ genius.¡±

    ¡°She is very skilled.¡± Said Sigurn dropped Erika back onto the floor and grinning a knowing grin at Kara who looked relieved, Erika tried to prevent she didn¡¯t realise she¡¯d just been handled expertly by someone who realised her curiosity outweighed her fear, but she didn¡¯t really mind all that much, after all it was nice that Sigurn paid attention to her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll protect you, Erika.¡± Said Kara smiling down at her, Erika tried not to smile but she failed.

    ¡°And on top of her I¡¯ll assign a few agents and rangers to keep an eye on you Erika, you¡¯re probably the most valuable person in this place, the only healer certainly and¡­ can you make food?¡±

    Erika thought for a moment then rocked a hand back and forth. ¡°Sort of, I can probably turn a corpse into a kind of meat tree which would keep growing if it was given enough water.¡±

    Sigurn laughed. ¡°Yeah, you are the single most valuable person here, nobody has much food only the rations they brought in with them or any small game they hunted inside the Tower, Losthope is called that because they noticed how low their food supplies were getting and thought it was the end.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s they?¡± Erika asked uncoiling slightly and leaning back on Kara. ¡°You keep saying they and them when you talk about this little shanty camp but does it have a leader?¡±

    Sigurn shrugged. ¡°Sort of, it¡¯s more a council style thing¡­ the long explanation is that everyone here is someone who the Temple snatched with its weird flying grabbing thing¡­

    ¡°Which I¡¯ll need to disable before we can leave?¡± Hazarded Erika.

    Sigurn smiled and shook her head. ¡°Oh no not at all, runes are what we have Gothi for, no you¡¯ll be the one who grabbed the treasure for Silvermane, apparently it doesn¡¯t like being touched by mundane humans¡­ don¡¯t know why.¡±

    ¡°Likes¡­ we¡¯re after something alive?¡± Erika half shouted with surprise, slightly sheepishly Sigurn shook her head again. ¡°No no that¡¯s just how it was explained to me¡­ look Erika I don¡¯t even know if what we are looking for is really here and I don¡¯t want to say what it is just in case it isn''t, some people go mad thinking about what could have been¡­¡±

    The fact that it didn¡¯t seem to be a trust issue mollified Erika who found herself nodding glumly along. ¡°Ok ok fine¡­ but we¡¯ve gotten side tracked, who¡¯s in this council then?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s basically just the leadership of the groups that made Losthope¡­ I''m on it obviously since I''m in charge of the Silvermane forces and you saw Ragvald who was leading a merchant caravan which got sucked in like we did, he seems to be focused on raiding the place for loot. You saw Bors he¡¯s a great clearing nomad whose tribe was on some sort of trading raiding trip when they got grabbed, he brough the most Gothi but the least people overall. That little man was Hakon, he¡¯s a delver as a matter of fact, was leading a refugee caravan that was commanded by a few third sons and daughters of jarls in the north as a way for them to get some cheap glory, they lost their maps and wandering into the edge of the Fimbulwinter. The last lot aren¡¯t on the council but also don¡¯t really answer to it, a whole troop of Vracians, two dozen of them in that weird armour they wear lead by a legate-alchemist, Hakon¡¯s the only person here who speaks Vracian and the tongue of the seven cities so he¡¯s kinda stuck being the go between, nobody knows why they turned up here¡­ I¡¯ve never heard of Vracians leaving their conquered hegemony.¡±

    ¡°Of course they don¡¯t all of the great kingdoms are still at war with them, they¡¯ll be killed on sight!¡±

    ¡°How did Vracians get here? We¡¯re on the opposite side of Midgard.¡± Erika asked, she understood the distances involved and she¡¯d read enough history books to vaguely understand supply chains and logistics, moving soldiers this far was incredibly difficult.

    ¡°I''m more worried with how we are getting out.¡± Said Kara absentmindedly stroking the handle of her axe. ¡°¡­Is there a way out?¡±

    ¡°The other group leaders say they found a door two levels down but it¡¯s surrounded by wargs, they fought through them and managed to get out for a while, but then they got sucked up into the sky again and ended up back here.¡±

    Kara and Erika grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s why I said why we need you Erika, it won¡¯t be quick for our Gothi to find the runes that are doing that or for them to disable them when they do. Until then you might be our best chance at not starving to death.¡±

    ¡°I only said I might be able to make food, not that I could.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll eat moss.¡± Sigurn said seriously. ¡°Anything works as long as we get Silvermane¡¯s treasure, smash the towers runes and it¡¯s a straight shot back home and into the history books.¡±

    ¡°Heh¡­¡± Erika grinned a little at that. ¡°Fine.¡±

 Interlude - The Crumbling Council

    Sigurn didn¡¯t know who had made the meeting room but she could tell they hadn''t been a real carpenter, it wasn''t a real room, just a three walled lean-to, it didn¡¯t even have a floor just a fur throw rug to keep the chill of the ancient stones at bay. A few tables had been dragged in from the merchant caravan, unsold inventory thanks to their entrapment in the tower, which had been adorned with a couple of A few dirty mugs of room temperature mead, only half full of course it wasn''t like they had much of it, and some slates and pens had been scattered around but Sigurn wasn''t sure who they belonged to.

    ¡°You could have mentioned you were bringing a vitki lady Sigurn.¡± Of course, it was Bors who spoke up first Sigurn had seen his little power plays with the other leaders, pushing for more control of the tower and its treasure, maybe he hoped to settle it after everyone else left? Sigurn didn¡¯t know nor did she care.

    ¡°I for one would have welcomed the warning, if I had been informed, I could have kept my people more easily in line.¡± Said Ragvald primly trying to politely glare at Sigurn as she calmly sipped her mead, despite being lukewarm it wasn''t half bad actually.

    ¡°Yeah, that wasn''t very nice Sigurn¡­ half my lot nearly bolted when they thought we had a way out and they got even nastier when they found out it wasn''t.¡± Sigurn did feel a little bad about how tired Hakon sounded, but only a little the job always came first¡­ and Hakon had a reputation for cunning so he might just be faking.

    ¡°I told you I was retrieving my missing men and that should be enough,¡± Sigurn sighed and dropped her mead back onto the rough tabletop. ¡°You three should remember I represent both the Althing of the Iron Lands and the richest woman in the world, none of you lot are exactly in my confidences, ok?¡±

    As expected Ragvald folded at the statement even as Bors bristled, Hakon cut off the nomad with a shard gesture and a warm smile directed at Sigurn which she thought was probably fake. ¡°Of course, of course and we do not wish to annoy the high-king, I hear you were her housecarl before you retired to join the delvers?¡±

    ¡°For a while.¡± Sigurn said noncommittally, Aesir above she hated this, all the careful speaking and sizing each other up but without Alvis it was her job now and you didn¡¯t get to be a housecarl for anyone if you didn¡¯t learn at least a bit of fancy talking¡­ although in her case Sigurn thought it was more like fancy silences and pointed statements, still just as boring but at least tolerable.

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    ¡°While that is quite fascinating it isn''t germane to our situation, rather I would like to ask if the young lady in question might be amenable to an offer of employment which would help Golden blood merchant syndicate... do feel free to tell her she would be generously compensated.¡±

    ¡°Damn merchants trying to steal a march on me¡­ look I¡¯ve got a dozen jarl kids with me, they aren¡¯t in heirs but they¡¯ve got pull, if your vitki leads us out of here they¡¯ll make sure she is well-compensated by their families, silver and favours both.¡±

    ¡°HEY! Neither of you¡­¡±

    ¡°She can¡¯t.¡± Sigurn said simply.

    Hakon drained his mug and looked suddenly older and more haggard, Ragvald spluttered and wrung his hands and Bors sighed and slumped back down into his chair which he had leapt up from as the argument began to pick up speed.

    ¡°You could have led with that!¡± Hakon muttered sinking deeper into his chair. ¡°Do you have any idea what I have to deal with! Dozens of refuges who lost their homes, nine spoiled brats who think only having two thralls is being poor and who refuse to eat anything but the finest fresh meat and these two morons who use me as an interpreter for the Vracians¡­ those thing''s freak me out ok! Their weird armour and those lifeless masks they wear are creepy.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you think I''m happy dealing with you lot?¡± Bors snapped back. ¡°Half your baby jarls think of my people as only one step above vermin and they refused to stop you refugees from getting into my tribe¡¯s food store, we had to post round the clock guards! I don¡¯t have the people for that! I need them exploring the tower and gathering treasure.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to remind both of you that it¡¯s my caravan that¡¯s been looted of all its foodstuffs,¡± Ragvald sniffed. ¡°My expensive preserved meats and fine pies all devoured without a single pennygar of compensation, my fellow merchants weep daily for the profits they have lost!¡±

    Sigurn sighed through her nose, a long slow and loud exhale that took nearly a half dozen heartbeats, this was why she hated politics they had had this exact same argument the last time she was here!

    But all of this was at least pacifying the other factions, as she let them rant Sigurn focused on what was important, the scouting missions she would soon be leading, first she¡¯d find Alvis, then she¡¯d find the runes keeping them here and then¡­ then she would find the Fragment, the treasure beyond treasures and the Iron Empire would rise again.

 Ventures and Adventures 1

    Three days had passed, three days of hiding out in a caravan and listening to the distant shouting had left Erika tired angry and upset, even with Kara being attentive Erika had felt herself boiling down towards an explosion of rage.

    Luckily Sigurn had noticed and decided to send her along on a heavily armed scouting expedition, Erika was certain Sigurn had assigned the best of their group to watch her but she couldn¡¯t find it in herself to care, she was done, done being weak and done staying in that damn caravan. She¡¯d dived fully into her Graft sorcery and was itching to see what it did, on top of that she¡¯d finally internalised the rites of subornment, essentially a long spell that made a flesh forged creation obedient to you, dumber than a bag of rocks but still obedient.

    Which was why she was being followed by two twisted four-legged pale creatures the size of a dinner table, each laden down with bags. Erika was a vitki and a life smith besides she didn¡¯t want carry bags and, thanks to a fortuitous attack by a few warg scouts, she didn¡¯t have too anymore! She¡¯d twisted the bodies of four of them together to create her two new thralls¡­ it was supposed to be a momentous day when she did that, one under her mother¡¯s supervision, but her own foolishness had robbed her of that moment and all she could do was move forwards.

    Speaking of forward that was their goal, to leave losthope and scout towards the ¡°front¡± of the tower (as defined by where the doors had been found) generally looking for trouble or supplies. Erika had wanted to go on one of the more serious scouting trips which were towards the heart of the tower and aimed to discover either the runes which kept them stuck here or the mysterious ¡°treasure¡± that Silvermane wanted. Sigurn always lead those trips personally, meaning they were very popular and surprisingly low risk since silver-rank and all that.

    But Erika had been discouraged from joining those missions, Sigurn had said that they were only low risk if they didn¡¯t find anything, if they ran into the treasure or the trap runes, then it would be far more dangerous than just snooping around.

    So, Erika had been sent on snooping duty, at least Kara with her, she tried not to act to smitten around the scouts but she was pretty sure she failed, it didn¡¯t matter of course nobody complained about being led by a vitki, even if she was only a few years out of childhood the old veterans all deferred to her instantly, that was the power of magic after all.

    As such Erika lead the group down the identical cold corridors, oblong slates under her feet and above her head, the darkness was absolute until it fled before their torches and lanterns but the chill still hung heavily in the air which stank of the strange papery ancient scent that speaks of eons unmanned and unmaintained, of abandoned grandeur and mouldering.

    Here and there one of those strange dot paintings was visible, most had faded with the centuries, their colour gone leaving behind only a smattering of darker spots on the stone, a few loose stones and bundles of dirt clogged up the corners of the tunnels and passages but that was it.

    Erika found it indescribably boring but she was ignoring that, they¡¯d already run into the two wargs who had become her thralls which meant that there was something here, the wargs had lived in the tower for centuries at least, they knew where its treasures were hidden and two of them had been in this section of the tower, their must be a reason.

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    Unfortunately, whichever direction the wargs had been heading wasn''t clear after the battle but fortunately nobody had objected to the scouting party trying to follow their tracks as best as they could, they¡¯d had to split up a few times to map out the more winding and prolific passages.

    Oh, and bones.

    Lots and lots of bones.

    Firstly, it was small bones, scattered piles of rat and vermin skeletons, all so old they crumbled at the touch. Then it was the gnawed bones of warg champions, devoured by their kin in their disgusting cannibalistic funeral rites and finally came the full skeleton. Only one, the party found it in a side passage, the scout who saw it so shocked he could make a sound, his frozen muteness alerting his allies.

    A long as four houses even twisted on the ground, as wide a dozen oxen even fleshless and uncovered, ancient almost tar like dust coated the passageway but somehow the bones themselves still gleamed, a full skeleton shining a bright silver like polished plate with its skull staring down reproachfully at the approaching humans, each of its eye sockets larger than Erika¡¯s entire body. In that frozen moment the frost on the ancient bones crackled and cracked, so old and brittle that even the warmth of their torches melted it away as the light struck the bones and shone.

    ¡°Metal bones?¡± Erika said, the first one to speak. ¡°How does that even work! Where would you make blood?!¡±

    Around her people relaxed, the world becoming more normal, the tension broken as people began to grin. ¡°Professional offended love?¡± Asked Kara, revelling in the way it made Erika blush.

    ¡°Wa¡­ i¡­ yes! It¡¯s¡­¡± She sputtered to a stop.

    ¡°What in Hel¡¯s name even is this thing? It¡¯s massive!¡± Gunhilda said, the berserker Gothi had insisted on following Kara on their mission and Erika found her company enjoyable which meant she was allowed to stay near the front of the column rather than be banished to the backline with the thralls and Solvor Sigsdottir, she wasn¡¯t bad company but Erika had gotten tired of trying to decipher her bizarre way of speaking.

    Speaking the column reminded Erika that she had a duty to perform or more accurately to fob off on someone else. Making a subtle gesture to the man next to her, a hugely tall yet incredible lanky veteran delver named Lauton who Sigurn had sent with her personally, who after she gestured him close and mimed a few words nodded with a slight smile and began to shout the scouts into a defensive permitter, set up some sort of outrider watch thing and¡­ some other stuff Erika wasn''t really paying attention

    Laudon was tactically in charge of their scouting party whereas Erika was the official leader¡­ which meant he was really in charge but that since Erika was a vitki and he couldn¡¯t be allowed to outrank a vitki, even though he was a battle-hardened veteran and expert leader of men and Erika was barely an adult and only knew the word tactics from some of the popular novels she read.

    Erika didn¡¯t mind this at all since it left her with as little responsibility as possible and gave her extra time to flirt with Kara or rest on one of her thralls. Rather than do that thought Erika was thinking, hard, she knew she¡¯d heard of something like this before¡­ a record of some past Life-Smiths¡¯ greatest creations? Some obscure lokispawn? Something about metal skeletons stuck in her mind.

    Pulling on a mental string she summoned her thralls over, the twisted shambling lumps of warg flesh were mostly covered by boxes and bags but she was sure she¡¯d made sure to grab her¡­ ah yes!

    Taking the heavy bestiary out of its box Erika paged through it until with satisfised grunt she found the page she¡¯d been looking for; of course, metal bones rang a faint bell, their owners were so very famous after all.

 Ventures and Adventures 2

    ¡°Jotun,¡± said Erika snapping the book shut, entirely unnecessary but she liked the drama. ¡°Only pure blooded jotun have the size and the metal bones, jotun kin are tall for humans but their bones only possess a weaving of naturally occurring metal, like living chainmail under their skin, Jotun on the other hand have fully metallic bones¡­ no idea how they survive like that though¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s incredible dear.¡± Said Kara warmly, Erika blushed bright red prompting Laudon to chuckle and shake his head, Erika glared at him with feigned petulance which just made him laugh louder.

    ¡°¡­ explains how big this place is right?¡± Reidar asked, the blue haired saga skin was one of the only people who still had thunderer rounds left in the entire expedition, the barrel of his thunder arm never wavered from the pile of metallic bones.

    ¡°Built by giants for giants?¡± Said one of the scouts, Erika thought about correcting them as jotun weren¡¯t the only kind of giant that existed but, in the end, she didn¡¯t bother instead just nodding along silently as the group cursed and muttered quiet prayers.

    It¡¯s no wonder they were scared, all jotun were born bronze rank and even a half decent jotun warrior was silver ranked, one could probably wipe Losthope out entirely if Sigurn wasn''t there, even with her it would probably only be a draw.

    ¡°Well¡­ luckily we know there aren¡¯t any more around.¡± Kara said suddenly, interrupted the plummeting mood.

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Laudon asked seeming more resigned that curious.

    Kara seemed to freeze for a moment then she smiled widely and gestured. ¡°I once met one, near the rim of the world, back before the Vracian smashed the Realmgate¡­. Anyway, she and I didn¡¯t speak much but she did mention how elaborate their death rituals are. They have layers and layers; songs are sung and a cairn is built and the skull is taken away¡­ none of those have been done here, right? So that means either there¡¯s no other jotuns at all or none survived whatever killed this one.¡±

    ¡°¡­so, what killed this one?¡± Asked one of the men near the back, an archer Erika thought, that instantly set people on edge again and a glance at Kara just got a shake of the head in return. ¡°I''m not an expert or anything,¡± she said swiftly. ¡°And even if I was a jotun expert I''m not a¡­ bones expert or whatever you call it.¡±

    ¡°Some of the ribs look broken,¡± Gunhilda said, touching the metal bones gently as if she was worried, they turn to dust. ¡°Broken ribs are incredible dangerous in humans I assume it¡¯s the same with jotun, a punctured lung should kill a jotun right?¡±

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    ¡°I never heard anything about jotun not needing to breathe so probably.¡±

    ¡°They breathe just like normal,¡± Kara nearly snapped. ¡°¡­ Stabbing a lung would do it.¡±

    ¡°But if it¡¯s a thing, like an attacker, where are the others? Did it somehow eat their bones?¡± Gunhilda asked hefting her battle-axe. ¡°All the stories say that jotun come in great hordes! Thousands of giants seated on hill sized yaks that raid and pillage entire kingdoms.¡±

    ¡°Maybe this one was different?¡± Erika asked with an exaggerated shrug. ¡°My books say jotun have just as many factions, guilds and groups as humans do, maybe this one was a loner or an outcast that¡¯s not important, the important question is¡­ do we want the bones?¡±

    In the crowd Kara stared at Erika with a complex expression as Gunhilda laughed, ignoring the reactions Erika gestured at the skeleton. ¡°I mean they must be valuable right? Most are two big to move sure but, Gunhilda you said some of the ribs are broken right, do any pieces look portable sized?¡±

    ¡°I think this one might¡­ oh no its broken in half¡­ oh this one¡­ wait.¡±

    Erika saw Gunhilda freeze and unbidden odium surged from her well ready to destroy whatever ancient horror the Gothi had discovered, but Gunhilda didn¡¯t reach for her battle-axe instead she had grabbed something that lay in the bones, whatever it was scrapped across the floor with a metallic clatter but it didn¡¯t look like part of skeleton, it glittered dully like gold.

    ¡°What the Hel is this?¡± Gunhilda muttered as she finished lifting it, a long spear of bronze with a twisted head on one end and a round hoop on the other, it didn¡¯t seem to be affected by however many eons it had laid there, tangled with the bones¡­ oh!

    ¡°That¡¯s what kill the jotun right?¡± Erika smiled at her conclusion only to see Gunhilda shake her head.

    ¡°Uh sorry Erika but no, it¡¯s not a weapon,¡± lowering the thing Gunhilda spun it to face the other way and gestured using it, ¡°look, it¡¯s a key I think.¡±

    Erika blushed slightly and looked away prompting Kara to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ¡°It was a good guess love.¡± She whispered which just made Erika blush. The rest of the patrol didn¡¯t seem to notice as they were all crowded around Gunhilda and the key.

    ¡°By the Aesir that¡¯s massive!¡±

    ¡°To us maybe but it would be small for a giant right?¡±

    ¡°It looks¡­ about half the length of the jotun fingers so¡­ yeah that would be a small key even for them.¡±

    ¡°A single man with a small, perhaps hidden, key?¡±

    ¡°Treasure!¡± That last word was said by many voices becoming an avaricious echo as eyes turned speculatively to the walls, as others began tapping the floor with metal hilts and a few even began to ponder the ceiling.

    Kara managed a half smile before shaking her head. ¡°I think this scouting run has become a treasure hunt now, the troops aren¡¯t going to give up on the chance of treasure.¡±

    ¡°Good point¡­¡± Erika turned away from Kara and cupped her hands around her mouth. ¡°Ok everyone let¡¯s stick together, we¡¯ll check around and look for treasure, but remember that it¡¯s been a long long time ok? Whatever it is might have been stolen by Wargs or just crumbled with the ages.¡±

 Ventures and Adventures 3

    A chorus of desultory agreement rose from the group, some had already abandoned their positions to get a good look at the key or to begin tapping on the walls listening for hidden spaces. Erika didn¡¯t think they were onto much of a thing there, these tunnels, like all tunnels with the tower, were smooth and disturbingly organic without any embellishments to hide keyholes secret doors. Besides, what was the chance that the jotun had managed to get to the right room before dying? Nearly nill, its far more likely he was still heading towards¡­ whatever the key unlocked, which could just be a door Erika reasoned, when he died of his wounds.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have a Galdr that can find treasure?¡±

    Erika laughed and shook her head as she took Karas arm in hers. ¡°No dear we don¡¯t, I think the vitki who manages to make a Galdr to find treasure will probably rule the world, there are a few divination rites that could be done but I don¡¯t have that part of my Sal ignited and so cannot use them¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh well,¡± Kara said airily. ¡°We can just look normally, no problem.¡±

    Erika grinned and gestured at the rapidly expanding mass of delvers who were beginning to split apart up and down the length of the tunnel, luckily Gunhilda and Laudon had noticed that and had begun to harang the down group into the up group, it was never a good idea to split the party after all.

    A group of archers and rangers had started lifting each other on their shoulders to study the ceiling, telling anyone who asked that ¡°jotun are tall so it must be up here!¡± but most of them had clustered around the corpse with Erika who was trying to guess which direction the giant had been facing when it died, obviously that would usually be impossible but in this case, it seemed like the corridor had been empty since the jotun died in it however many countless eons it had been, the stone had discoloured under the bones which were themselves entirely clean, any dust or cobwebs had disintegrated ages beforehand.

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    Looking at the jotun spine and carefully checking the position of the head, Erika was certain that the jotun had been heading away from the Losthope, or where Losthope was now built obviously it wasn''t there back then, and towards the edge of the tower when it had died. Or at least that¡¯s the way its corpse was pointing and frankly what else was she going to do? Tell all the treasure mad delvers ¡°to bad, we can¡¯t find it?¡±

    Following what was, probably, maybe, the eons old jotun tracks. Of course there weren¡¯t any actual tracks but a bit of logical deduction and a lot of plain guess work did the trick just as well, Erika wandering along the plain stone tunnel, further and further from Losthope, the scouts ranged far ahead the flame of greed overriding their caution, the warriors marched in quick time, even Gunhilda was telling a loud and involved but entirely made up backstory for the dead jotun to anyone who would listen, Erika did so for a few moments then tuned her out as she started talking about sky castles and giant magic cats?

    A few passages passed by, a half sized for giants and a huge empty round room that one of the delvers declared had been a grain silo. The delvers had attacked the hall, running their hands over the edges of the huge stone blocks that the hall was made from and tapping on the walls again, but it was the silo which stopped Erika in her tracks, if someone was going to hide a treasure¡­ then why not under a vast mass of grain?

    The grain had turned to dust over the time so it would be easier to check¡­ but Erika still didn¡¯t want to do that herself, she was a vitki, that mean she wasn''t supposed to scrabble in the dirt.

    ¡°You and¡­ you, take my thralls and go check in that dust for a chest or box or something that the key will fit, it¡¯s probably giant sized¡­¡±

    That did it, the delvers she¡¯d gestured at practically threw themselves into the drifts of sticky dust. The thralls shambled in after them and began to wave their various appendages back and forth through the drifts. One of the delvers quickly began to tire, coughing and spluttering and stumbled forwards only half-heartedly, the other apparently had some troll blood in him or something like it because he ignored the choking clouds of dust practically crawling as he scrambled and searched.

 Ventures and Adventures 4

    Erika meanwhile stood back and started rummaging through her pockets, she knew one of the bags in her mantle had¡­ aha! A lump of cornmeal, still faintly warm, bitter greens, and a slab of Warg meat all wrapped up together, Sigurn had given it to her when she left camp, courtesy of that merchant guys cooks, Erika forgot his name, but it certainly looked delicious.

    Munching on her treat slowly Erika leant back on Kara and watched the searchers at work, a few were still back at the hall trickling in behind the main pack but the rest had joined the two Erika chose and were now sifting through the vast pile of dust.

    Their coughing and spluttering echoed through the silent chamber as Erika thought, if the treasure was jotun sized then they probably would have found it by now in the dust filled silo, Erika¡¯s thralls were on their second lap after all, oh sure a human sized treasure chest would be missed by the key was nearly the size of Erika¡¯s arm, that meant the lock must be commensurately huge in size and to host a lock that big the chest or door or whatever must also be jotun sized.

    All of this was obviously of course but Erika liked to thoroughly think through problems by taking them apart and examining each of the sections, they knew what they were looking for, a jotun sized lock, but they didn¡¯t know in what, it might be a treasure chest but it might also be a door or just not anything of value at all¡­ maybe it opened a jotun front door or something

    Of course Erika couldn¡¯t say that, the treasure madness had gripped the delvers and nothing would stop them now, everyone who had joined the Silvermane expedition was either desperately or ambitious and neither of those types turned back from a chance at unguarded jotun gold.

    The last few searchers waded their way out of the dust and slumped on the ground sweat and filth running down their skin as they poured waterskins over their heads.

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    ¡°Nothing here lady vitki.¡± Said one of the two Erika had dumped the task on, Erika smiled at him and recalled her thralls. Usually she¡¯d say thank you of course, that much was polite after all, but the delver bore the faded tattoos of a freed thrall and a vitki like Erika thanking him would probably make him more scared than anything else, so a smile would do, besides talking to strangers tired Erika out.

    So, no treasure in the dirt pile, no treasure in the hall and obviously none in the passageways between, so where could it be? Obviously, Erika knew she might have been wrong about how the jotun had died, maybe he rolled over just before expiring and now they were going in the wrong direction, but this was still the best lead they had to go on and it wasn''t a good one, they could be stuck on this for days!

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s over here!¡±

    Erika sighed and turned around to where a scout was being lifted into the air by his cheering colleagues, Erika couldn¡¯t remember his name but he was one of the newer delvers, probably one here for the money more than the glory, he wore a smooth rabbit fur tunic and long canvas trousers paired with a short sword and a long bow.

    Erika let the celebration go on for a moment before she loudly cleared her throat just behind the group, a few moments of embarrassment and motion later and the group had formed a respectful huddle a few metres away from her with the blushing scout lowered back to the ground and trying to look serious.

    ¡°Ok so good work but where is it?¡±

    ¡°Ah its right here ma¡¯am, I was looking for a secret door and this bit of the wall is hollow so I tried to find the keyhole and¡­ here, right in this dot ma¡¯am.¡±

    Erika looked closer and realised it was in fact a keyhole, hidden in the stylised dot art that covered the walls, one of the dots sunk in at the centre revealing a tiny dull socket, made from a matt textured metal that didn¡¯t shine or glint, only faint texturing in the depths of the socket revealed that it was a keyhole at all, the tiny ridges that formed the lock mechanism just barely visible to the naked eye¡­ in fact Erika doubted a jotun could ever have found it, it was only about the size of a human palm, jotun stood taller than ancient oak trees.

    ¡°As small as a pinprick to them.¡± Erika muttered to herself as she ordered the thrall that carried the key to her side, ignoring the wet squelching of its grotesque locomotion she grabbed the bar of ancient metal and slid it home into the hidden socket.

 Ventures and Adventures 5

    It fit perfectly, even making a faint clicking sound as the edges met all along the cylinder, with a slightly huff Erika turned the key¡­ turned the key¡­ Erika tried to turn to the key.

    Throwing her weight into it Erika huffed and puffed and, after a moment, staggered backwards waving her throbbing hands in the air till the pain faded.

    ¡°Damn things stuck solid!¡± Erika snarled.

    ¡°Or it was just made for jotun to open?¡± Gunhilda said with a smile, Erika shot her a look that could kill before smiling up at Kara who was fussing over her hands.

    ¡°Stand back little ones, I¡¯ve got this!¡± Laudon crowed with surprising energy, a moment later Erika realised why when he pulled his shirt off and started posing for the crowd before squaring up with the key. Grabbing the handle Laudon pivoted his entire body to the side in a triumphant lunge and then¡­ he froze. Stuck in place his muscles began to bulge and sweat began to bead on his skin as he strained again the ancient mechanism until a faint grinding began to echo through the walls, becoming louder and louder until the tunnel seemed to shake.

    A final deafening snap rung out as the ancient lock clicked open, this obviously surprised Laudon who was still putting his entire strength into turning it as he jumped lunged and stumbled all at once sideway across the hall and landed in a heap same moment that Laudon flew across the hallway and landed in a heap, the key vanishing inwards now that it had served its purpose.

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    Laudon stood up and posed again. ¡°I have strength!¡± He howled to a few cheers and whistles from the assembled delvers.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t open it?¡± Erika muttered.

    ¡°Let him dream.¡± Kara whispered back making the vitki smile.

    Letting Luadon have his moment in the sun Erika stepped past the celebration and poked at the wall, even throwing her shoulder into the shove resulted in nothing at all, not even the slightest motion. Erika new she was weak for a human let alone a jotun and yes, the key had been impossible to turn but if it opened inwards, she was sure she¡¯d have felt something.

    Walking along the wall she began to feel out the edges which got much easier when she noticed that they coincided perfectly with the width of this piece of wall art, there were dozens of distinct art pieces along the halls walls with what Erika guessed was a jotuns width of blank stone between them, this one looked like it depicted a¡­ fish Jumping out of a lake trailing water from its fins¡­ or maybe an elk in the middle of rotting¡­ or maybe the jotun who had made this was just a drunk Erika honestly couldn¡¯t tell and dint much care.

    The darkened dimples of what must once have been paint still had the faintest hint of orange that spoke of once vibrant reds when the painting had been fresh, was that perhaps a clue to opening it? Or was the mechanism just seized up like the lock had been?

 Ventures and Adventures 6

    Erika guessed it was the lest poetic of the two options, it always tended to be those after all. Gesturing her thrall¡¯s forwards Erika ordered them to grab¡­ grab the¡­ there wasn''t anything to grab onto?! Ok sure it¡¯s a hidden door but surely it still needed a handle?

    Erika bent down and glared at the keyhole, the key had sunken away like a boulder dropped in a swamp and was now entirely invisible but maybe it was supposed to shoot back out so it could be used as a grip?

    Erika ordered her thralls to charge the wall, which they did with uncoordinated but indefatigable zeal, slamming their bulks into it and then subsequently falling onto the floor. Erika watched closely and she saw the edge, where the door had briefly dipped inwards, but was that enough? No probably not¡­ ok then time for violence.

    Erika stepped back and threw a lance of acid at the wall, as the scouts around her jumped backwards and cursed Erika threw two more spears of burning bile into the wall all three directly at the hairline crack of the doorframe she had seen, as the stone sagged and ran Erika saw a glint of shining steel behind it in elegant loops and complex intertwined gears.

    ¡°Anybody know machinery?¡± Erika sked receiving nothing but blank looks and shaken heads in reply¡­ oh no wait. Erika saw Reidar push his way to the front waving a hand in the air, the saga kin grinned at her and gestured at the thunderarms that he wore on his bandolier. ¡°When you use weapons like these lady vitki you learn about machinery or you die.¡±

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    ¡°Great! See if you can¡­ I don¡¯t know figure out what all this stuff does and make it open the door.¡±

    Reidar ostentatiously rolled his shoulders and grinned at the gathered delvers, then he took a pair of thin metal¡­ sticks? From his belt and began to tap and prod and twist the mechanisms.

    Kara was also staringly closely at the exposed metal, occasionally reaching her full arm in and groping for something, when Erika asked her what she was looking for Kara simply replied. ¡°Traps.¡±

    That seemed to snap Reidar¡¯s confidence a bit and, a few minutes of rummaging in his pack later, he continued his efforts a full cubit away from the wall using much longer metal sticks and an array of mirrors and pipes.

    Whilst all this was going on Erika noticed Laudon had started doing leader stuff again, a row of the heavier delvers had been formed in front of the door holding shields, a back line of scouts was watching the distant door into the hall, two men with spears were lurking near the other entrance and someone had started passing out cups of watered mead. Erika wasn''t sure if she was supposed to approve of giving out alcohol but again, she was only the leader because the vitki had to be the leader not because she wanted to be or was any good at it whereas Laudon had been handpicked by Sigrun to look after her and make the scouting run easy on her so he probably knew what he was doing.

 Ventures and Adventures 7

    Taking a sip of her drink Erika watched as Reidar slowly and carefully moved the gear, click by click, until after what seemed like hours but was probably less than a minute before the door cracked open, the huge slab of stone opening outwards into the hall with a grinding roaring metallic sound. Erika stood to the side, hands clamped over her ears and cursing the noise under her breathe. Anything on this whole level knew where they were now, so distracted was she that Erika failed to notice the surge of people, every damn delver in their scout group had started moving at the same time to move, starting slowly at first but picking up speed, towards the treasure chamber door.

    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Laudon managed to halt them with a single word, the avaricious horde coming to a halt still a full spear-throw away from the door, the greed seemed to fade from their eyes and the delvers quickly formed battle lines again now watching both the doors of the hall and the treasure chamber with equal intensity.

    Laudon glared at the group for a few more moments before she gestured at Erika. ¡°After you Lady Vitki.¡±

    ¡°AFTER we check for traps.¡± Kara said pulling Erika back by one shoulder, Laudon looked chastened instantly but Erika was just puzzled. ¡°Traps? In a secret treasure compartment¡­ that I half melted¡­ and that¡¯s been closed since before Ragnar?k?¡±

    ¡°Jotun love their traps and tricks lady vitki I should have remembered that.¡± Laudon hung his head for a moment before shaking himself and gesturing to Reidar again. ¡°Got any skill with trap checking or only mechanisms?¡±

    Reidar shrugged with an aggrieved look. ¡°Only experienced with mechanical stuff, I could give it a look with a mirror on a stick though?¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t, if a trap goes off the loot might be damaged¡­ anyone good with traps?¡±

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    The crowd shook its collective heads, they had been gathered for a scouting mission after all not a tomb delver or treasure run. Light amour and weapons coupled with good scouts, the vitki was overkill to be honest let alone a proper trapsmith.

    ¡°Damn¡­ Maybe Reidar should do it.¡±

    Erika nodded and looked thoughtful, overtly thoughtful; she didn¡¯t want the group thinking she was some short-sighted child after all. ¡°I might be able to throw a thrall in? Get him to grab the loot and run whilst shielding it with his body, it doesn¡¯t matter if they die.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ might work¡­ you can make them defend the loot?¡± Kara asked peering into the darkness.

    ¡°With their lives¡­ well my lives¡­¡± Erika muttered

    ¡°You¡¯re lives?¡± Kara looked worried so Erika shook her head and tried to explain. ¡°Its vitki¡­ slang I guess? Basically my thralls are mine body and soul, that¡¯s what Helsdottir herself said, they are mine in a way deeper than a human thrall would belong to his master, so they don¡¯t spend their lives, they spend my lives, they are mine¡­ at least that¡¯s how I understand it, there¡¯s a pretty complex philosophy behind it all, my mother understands all of that and I guess I copied her wording growing up, but I kept putting off reading them¡­ guess I should when we get back right?¡±

    ¡°Probably.¡± Kara said with a grin.

    A few minutes later after everybody else failed to come up with a better plan the party had hidden itself around the corner to the hall in case of poison gas, one of Erika¡¯s thralls stood right in front of the door as a shield and the other was in the doorframe of the secret room, Erika had explained their orders and she thought it should work, the front one would grab and run, the back one would move to the side to let it through then block the way again, any sort of explosion should be absorbed by the thrall and not channelled down the room as the second thrall escaped back to them with the loot.

    ¡°Go!¡±

    The moment hung in the air, the scent of cold stone and age joined by the stink of adrenaline and fear, echoes of distant dripping combined with the clattering of shields being raised, Erika tucked herself into Karas side as best she could, bracing herself against her lovers shield just in case, this was it the¡­

 Ventures and Adventures 8

    ¡­and her thrall was already back, holding a single human sized slab of black stone covered in white dots of some sort of metal forming one of the pictographic stories that covered the walls around here¡­ where was the boom? Or smash or slash or¡­

    ¡°Huh¡­ I guess the jotun didn¡¯t bother trapping it, that¡¯s weird, I thought they liked traps.¡±

    ¡°They do¡­ but I guess¡­ maybe the key was hidden behind a trap? Since we got it off a corpse maybe we skipped that?¡±

    ¡°I suppose we didn¡¯t check it¡­¡±

    Erika sighed and reluctantly untangled herself from Kara¡¯s body, a few mental gestures had the thrall drop the block in front of her but just to be safe she didn¡¯t call the other thrall back, it still might be a delayed trap of some kind, no reason to pull back her shield just yet.

    ¡°What even is this thing?¡± One of the scouts was asking, poking the tablet with a boot.

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡±

    In the distant a horn sounded, then a another, then a third, the walls shook for a moment and then stilled, dust spun through the air and something went *clack*.

    ¡°Is that the trap going off?¡± Laudon asked.

    Erika looked inwards to her Odium well, she found only one stream heading outwards anymore, the second was gone. ¡°My second thrall was just destroyed so, probably.¡±

    Reidar pocked his head around the corner then blanched slightly. ¡°In Hels name!¡± He swore, a moment later Kara stepped around him, looked, swore as well then turned sharply and lurched back to Erika¡¯s side. ¡°Your thrall got turned into paste¡­¡± she muttered ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know if any of use would have survived that.¡±

    ¡°What even was it!¡± Asked a scout gesturing at the red dripping walls. ¡°Was it the power of the Runes?¡±

    ¡°No, I would have felt the hand of the gods upon us, I think it was something like the Vracians use, alchemical they call it.¡± Erika said walking back into the hall with a fearless tread¡­ after she had had sent her remaining thrall in first to act as a shield, she wasn''t stupid after all.

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    ¡°¡­all the blood is smoking.¡±

    ¡°It might be poison!¡± Laudon yelped as he back-peddled away from the steaming pools.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s just hot?¡±

    Erika ignored the chatter and grabbed the enormous stone tablet that her thrall had dropped off, she couldn¡¯t move it obviously but¡­ yeah¡­ just stone, fancy stone of course but nothing hidden beneath it, no hollow boom or crack able glaze, it wasn''t secretly a pile of gold or a platinum sheet the size of a person, it was just stone, even the runes carved into it were just runic lettering not the Runes of the gods.

    ¡°¡­so its worthless?¡± Reidar asked as Erika laid out her findings.

    After a moment Erika sighed and shrugged. ¡°Yeah basically, big waste of time.¡±

    Erika noticed Kara was staring at the tablet along with Gunhilda who was carving at its edge with a knife, a few of the scouts had joined them whilst the rest were poking around the secret door itself, after a moment Erika joined them.

    The room beyond was entirely nondescript and small, at least for a jotun, it was about the size of Erikas bedroom but for a jotun that was just barely large enough for their hand to fit inside. In the back of the secret room was a slight depression in the floor so that the tablet could be fit inside, all in all it was utterly unimpressive¡­ but Erika was still taking having her thrall haul it back with them, it had cost her a thrall to get it after all, she was going to¡­ oh that was a thought!

    ¡°You guys reckon those merchants will want that thing?¡± Erika asked the group in general and Laudon in particular as she hiked a thumb over her shoulder at the mysterious tablet. A few of the downhearted expressions began to warm up but after a moment Laudon shook his head.

    ¡°Any other situation lady vitki and they¡¯d be desperate for it but now? Low on food and water and surrounded by enemies with no droogs for hauling heavy weights? I doubt we¡¯ll get much for it.

    Erika sighed. ¡°Your right of course and¡­¡±

    *slap slap slap*

    ¡°HALT!¡±

    Erika dived for cover as the delvers around her moved, shields raisings weapons baring the entire mob of heartbroken treasure hunters turning instantly into a bladed porcupine of hatred and capitalistic disappointment.

    ¡°I''m from the camp, I''m FROM THE CAMP!¡±

    Erika looked over one of the shields that had appeared around her, every delver knew to always protect the vitki if you were lucky enough to have one, and saw¡­ what was her name? The female scout that Bjorn had punched once¡­ Ari, that was her name!

    ¡°Damn it you scared us! What in Hels name¡­¡±

    ¡°SHUT IT! WHERES THE VITKI!¡±

    The scout stared open mouth at Ari but managed to point at Erika, Ari stared at her for a moment then she ran towards her and skidded into a sort of one knee half bow directly in front of Erika who was instantly uncomfortable but before she could tell the older woman to stand up Ari spoke.

    ¡°Lady Vitki I must report that Losthope has been attacked and several of our fellows have been slain! Lady Sigurn requests you return as fast as possible to reinforce the expedition.¡±

    ¡°¡­what?¡±

 Chaos in Camp 1

    Chaos, absolute chaos, Erika honestly wasn''t sure that Losthope had ever lived up to its name more than right now. The sentries were gone, the gates wide open, the neat little cordoned off areas and piles of food were destroyed and tainted with blood and guts, arrows still studded the walls of caravans and the fresh clean water from the magical well was being drawn out by the bucket full to damp down dozens of fires.

    ¡°WHAT HAPPENED!¡± Laudon demanded, despite yelling he didn¡¯t bother looking back at Ari who might know the answer but instead just sped away into the camp grabbing a bucket of water as he did so. Erika noticed that most of the scouting party had done the same, minus the water, splintering apart as they headed back to the expedition¡¯s encampment within Losthope, presumably to salvage what possessions that they could.

    Erika wasn''t worried, she put a curse on her wagon before she left it¡­ well not actually a curse but an incredibly venomous scorpion thrall that she¡¯d left on her roof with orders to kill anyone who wasn¡¯t her, honestly a curse might be kinder.

    Kara and her party stuck close to Erika, she had no doubt it was because she was their boss¡¯s lover but she still found it endearing that Reidar and Gunhilda were at her side rather than rushing to their wagons. Not that that was why they had been called back anyway, Laudon had thrown himself into relief efforts but Erika was sure Ari had said attacked¡­ ah Erika spotted the woman and gestured her over.

    ¡°Yes, lady vitki?¡± Ari asked, she seemed happy they had come but still unsettled, eyes darting around wildly

    ¡°What happened, you said we were attacked right, so by who?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know ma¡¯am, Sigurn woke me up to fetch you, I just heard fighting and the fires burning.¡± Ari looked almost guilty Erika thought but guessed she was worried about her companions and friends amongst the expedition.

    ¡°Well let¡¯s go and find Sigurn.¡±

    Erika stormed off into the chaos, or at least tried to, for once in her life the blue and red of her vitki mantle didn¡¯t open a hole in the crowd, instead she was entirely ignored and forced to fall back on physical force which being a head shorter than the majority wasn''t her strong suite. Pushing into the mass twice Erika was bounced back out by the motion of the crowd both times, squaring her shoulders Erika was about to do something unwise when a comforting hand interrupted her.

    ¡°Let me lead, just stay close by ok my love?¡± And without a backwards glance, which was probably for the best as Erika had melted and gone red, Kara shoved her way forwards. The mass of shadowy figures that was a panicked crowd moving about in half-darkness formed a near solid wall but, inexorably, Kara pulled it apart and broke it down. Stomping forward with her shield raised she diverted the tide of people into small pools, separated from the mob these people quickly came back to their senses, no longer vaguely intoxicated in that strange way that following the crowd can cause.  A few started following Kara and her party, Erika included of course, but most split off and began to help, no longer simply panicking but dousing fires and gathering possessions.

    The scent of fire and smoke was overwhelming, but Erika was sure she could smell a tinge of worrying spiciness which implied that at least one of the food wagons had gone up in flames, that was far from ideal, Erika could make food with magic sure but not for many people and it tasted¡­

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    Erika shuddered and tried to repress the memory that was crawling to the surface, luckily a distraction immediately presented itself as Kara came to a clattering halt, her chainmail jangling against itself as she swayed in place.

    ¡°SIGURN!¡±

    Erika saw Kara start waving wildly for a moment before gesturing over her shoulder towards Erika, a moment later she stepped aside and revealed Sigurn who looked harried and angry.

    ¡°What happened and where am I needed?¡± Erika asked quickly and concisely, she didn¡¯t need to know the broad strokes but she wanted to be told if she should be looking for wargs or degenerate giants.

    Sigurn being a veterans veteran snapped into action without a pause, she held up a delaying finger towards Erika then turned to the rest of the group.

    ¡°You you and you get on buckets you, and you, Kern right? Well go and check on the food, and do a proper check, I want to know what the bottom of every biscuit looks like! You and you head to the perimeter¡­ and you come with me Lady Helsdottir.¡±

    Erika felt her eyes widen, she may not be the most socially competent but even she noticed that Sigurn had never called her the incredibly formal title for a vitki before this moment, in fact that title was rarely used at all except by suck ups or at the Jarls court.

    Having no idea what that meant in this situation though Erika decided to just shrug off the confusion and get to work, trailing along behind Sigurn as she stormed her way through the shadowed throng.

    ¡°We¡¯ve lost two of our own with three more who would follow them without your aid, the rest of the camp lost 5, except for the Vracians and the Jarl children. It was the in our food, in our damn food!¡±

    ¡°Poison? Parasite? Disease? Lurking warg assassin?¡± Despite sounding a little like it Erika wasn''t even vaguely joking, wargs had fluid joints and could fit inside damn near anything, a food crate wouldn¡¯t even be that hard since they were made roomy so they could carry extra supplies.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I think its poison but¡­ but some of the people who died didn¡¯t eat any of the tainted supplies, so it might be a fast-acting disease like Jarlfever or Runerot.¡±

    Erika nearly stopped at that then cursed and sped up, Jarlfever wasn''t bad but Runerot could kill a city if it wasn''t quarantined in time, in a dense and makeshift settlement like Losthope? They be doomed, no way to keep people locked down or prevent spread via water and food, Erika found herself genuinely hoping it was just a lethal poison, those she could deal with. ¡°What are the symptoms?¡±

    ¡°Purple veins standing out on the arms and legs, hair falling out, eyes bloodshot¡­ ah just look here¡­¡±

    Sigurn stopped at the door of one of the better constructed shanty houses and kicked the door open, inside were three piles of fur each with a writhing sweating figure tangled in them, two harried looking young delvers ran back and forth with buckets and mops as Ammeris, the non Vracian alchemist Erika remembered, tried to pour noxious concoctions down throats and other less savoury orifices.

    ¡°It¡¯s the vitki!¡±

    ¡°...finally¡­ urgh¡­ please¡­¡±

    ¡°Erika! I need¡­ hold still¡­ this one here has something in his lungs and that one¡¯s skin is rotting, I think it¡¯s a poison.¡±

    Without a word Erika threw [Strengthen Lifeforce] at all three of the sufferers, it helped against esoteric attacks like Hel¡¯s divine art, galdr¡¯s and poison. Not disease though that was better dealt with by [droogs endurance], a moment later and a scrying galdr identified the dangers. Reaching down Erika¡¯s hands moved through the flesh before her like water, it sounded disturbing but it was weirdly mundane, a slight glow around her half-submerged wrists the only evidence of the galdr in use.

    Oh¡­ oh no.

 Chaos in Camp 2

    Erika felt the blackness of the poison flowing through the red blood underneath her hands, it wasn''t blackness of course it was just how her mind saw the poison through her magic, but that didn¡¯t matter, what mattered was the faint gold that tinted the black in Erikas galdr granted sight, the flickering glitter like a dozen melted coins shot through the mass of the poison, it should have looked pure, gold on black like that, but in Erikas eyes that gold sang with hatred and venom and death.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a poison,¡± Erika whispered to Sigurn pulling the taller woman down so her ear was right at her mouth, she knew they couldn¡¯t let this information spread. ¡°It¡¯s a divine art and one I¡¯ve never seen before, that means¡­ that means it¡¯s one of the bringers of twilight, maybe J?rmungandr?¡±

    Sigurn¡¯s face twisted instantly into a snarl her eyes seemed to dull as her fingers twitched towards her axe¡¯s handle shear hatred rising from her skin.

    Erika meanwhile felt more fear that anger, the harbingers of twilight had ended the old world even as they had killed innumerable Aesir, of course that wasn''t the bad part, after all she¡¯d fought a divine art using Warg just a bit earlier, blessed by Loki and cunning in its way. But the known Loki arts didn¡¯t include a magical poison like this, that meant it wasn''t a skin changed or intangible warg that had poisoned their supplies, J?rmungandr or not none of the other twilight bringers granted skin changing arts so said Erika¡¯s library back home at least, if nobody noticed a lurking poison spewing Warg that meant¡­

    ¡°Cultists.¡± Hissed Sigurn causing Erika to flinch and Kara to begin to mutter a prayer. Despite ending the old world their power was real each of the bringers of Twilight Fenris wolf, Nidhogg, Loki and J?rmungandr, could grant incredible power to a faithful follower, to one willing to sate their dark desires for dishonourable deaths and terrible torments, to burn halls and salt fields and break all the oaths of civilisation.

    Kara¡¯s hand fell heavy on Erika¡¯s shoulder and she realised she''d been both wool gathering and getting overly poetic instead of actually helping snapping herself out of the thought spiral and bending down Erika focused her task, the bringers were bad but they weren¡¯t her problem her problem was saving these lives, let Sigurn deal with the other stuff.

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    ¡°We need to lock down Losthope! Check everyone for evidence of¡­¡± Helga trailed off as Sigurn raised a hand.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been hunting their kind since Ragnar?k ended. All the dumb ones are already dead, only the subtle and cunning survived to taint and teach till today¡­. If only Alvis was here, I was never any good at shadow work.¡± Sigurn said honestly tapping the flat of her axe idly as if in thought.

    ¡°If we go tell the other groups maybe we can organise something.¡± Ammeris said from where she rested on her haunches next to the most injured delver, she was scowling at the wounds with a mixture of fear and affront on her face, alchemy as a mundane science didn¡¯t affect the powers of the Aesir, even the bringers of twilight were above the material, her efforts in total had just barely been to dilute her patient¡¯s blood with alchemical tonics.

    Erika meanwhile was able to do far more, her galdr enhancing the patients¡¯ bodies gave her time to plan and, with her flesh shaping arts, a way to deal with the venom. Even a shadow of a shadow of the world serpents¡¯ venom like this one wouldn¡¯t be easily cured or counteracted but it could be simple¡­ removed, it wouldn¡¯t be pretty but it was better than dying.

    Her fingers drumming a nervous rhythm on her thigh Erika nodded to herself and raised both hands like she was readying herself to conduct a symphony, the sickly endless shifting hue of the poison pulsed below her and she swooped down upon it like divine hawk. Flesh twisted and veins decoupled, not grotesque as one would expect but instead in an oddly boring, clean, and clinical way, flesh simple sectioning itself without fuss and moving upwards or downwards as if pulled by invisible hooks, as the flesh moved the blood didn¡¯t, leaving it to fall to the ground behind.

    The spreading pool of blood below her soaked into the hem of her mantle but Erika barely noticed, her focus was entirely on the body floating into pieces beneath her fingers, she wished she could take her time and ensure what she was doing was safe but she couldn¡¯t, she didn¡¯t know an art to create new blood yet meaning that she was on a time.

    Skin moved back, muscle uncoiled, bones floated away almost playfully until finally she had isolated the most affected sections of the first patient, with a snap of her fingers Erika peeled the tainted flesh away and dumped it on the floor before sealing back the skin and realigning the bones until the only evidence of the galdr was a series of odd depressions on the delvers body.

 Chaos in Camp 3

    As Erika worked, she noticed that the room suddenly seemed larger than before?... Oh, Helga and Sigurn had left, why? Now there was only Kara and Ammeris were still with her in the impromptu healer¡¯s hut which Erika didn¡¯t much like what with cultists lurking around, she¡¯d much prefer the local silver ranked Aesir Chosen stay near her at all times.

    ¡°Where¡¯d Sigurn go?¡± Erika asked as she moved onto the second delver, a male sagaborn with curved antlers who had somehow managed to get a double dose of the divine poison, it swirled and gnawed away inside his guts and lungs, his skin blackening almost like charred meat.

    ¡°She¡¯s gone to help calm things down, get a headcount and check all the food for poison.¡± Kara murmured her hand rested on Erikas shoulder.

    Pushing flesh aside and scooping blood out onto the floor hadn''t been that hard last time but this? How could she heal this? He didn¡¯t have a single untainted organ left and she was circles below being able to play mix and match with people¡¯s organs, maybe if she drained much of the cursed venom his soul might be able to fix the rest ¡­ or he¡¯d die anyway, either or.

    ¡°Just the food?¡± Erika asked.

    Ammeris sighed. ¡°The waters are still being cleaned by the runes; Aesir runes would burn and shatter if exposed to enough of the taint of the twilight bringers.¡±

    ¡°I meant how do we know the cultist isn''t just running around poisoning people?¡± Erika muttered, concentrating on her work.

    Kara scoffed loudly. ¡°Lady Erika is right to worry, whoever set all those fires is probably in league with the cultists, they might not have bothered going for the stockpile, just poisoning meals directly or even using a needle, I¡­ oh?¡± Kara stopped speaking as she noticed Ammeris get more and more red, it didn¡¯t seem to Erika like an angry red though, her shifty gaze and distant manner instead spoke of deep embarrassment.

    ¡°Ammeris?¡±

    ¡°Look I thought it was an attack!¡± The alchemist exploded gesturing wildly. ¡°A man in front of me exploded in a cloud of blood! How was I supposed to know those guys I¡¯d never seen before were coming to help him?¡±

    ¡°¡­ you have a dagger with a fire rune, don¡¯t you?¡± Erika asked in a sweetly fanged tone.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ammeris muttered.

    ¡°So, we weren¡¯t attacked, you thought we were and started a load of fires when the poison killed a guy¡­ why did the fire spread so far though?¡±

    ¡°That I was not responsible for, I have no idea, just three or four big sparks and half of Losthope was ablaze, its like someone dumped oil all over the place but nobody smelt or saw anything like it.¡±

    All three women paused for a moment before Kara said what they were all thinking. ¡°Loki cultist?¡±

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    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ possible but not everything is that monster¡¯s fault, I could just have been a very dry day.¡±

    Kara shrugged and Ammeris grunted in a vague sort of half acknowledgement as Erika finished up with the last wounded man, shoving the flesh back into place and mopping up the tainted blood as well as she could.

    ¡°Well¡­ that aside, I¡¯ve done all I can here¡­¡± Erika noticed Sigurn slip back into the shelter and smiled at her. ¡°Ah Sigurn I''m done with these three, any of the other groups have infected? And if they do, should I help them? Like for favours or silver or whatever.¡±

    Sigurn nodded and her permanent smile became a bit more real for a moment before fading again, grabbing her huge axe one handed and hefting a thunderarm six-shot in her other hand she lead Erika away and into the street, not a real street of course just a roughly straight line where their group had put the biggest wagons so as not to get in the way, droogs were fed and watered off to one side and were looking out at the excitement around them with the slightly sardonic expression of domesticated animals watching their domesticator run themselves ragged.

    The fires were put out and people seemed much more organised, the smell of smoke was heavy in the air and distant sobbing could be heard from the clustered tents along with the drumming of feet and creaking of timber as charred wood was pulled off injured delvers.

    Moving away from the Silvermane encampment Sigurn strode towards the centre of the shanty town Erika running to keep up and Kara clattering along at her heels, Erika saw ahead of them the rough town square that had been crudely marked out with braziers and boxes, it sat in the centre of Losthope of course but it wasn''t alone, the first two groups to shelter here enveloped it on both sides, Ragvald merchant caravan now slightly looted for its food and the so called Jarls camp, the gathering of refuges and second sons lead by Hakon the spearman.

    As they entered the shabby square a miniature cacophony erupted, it seemed some of the poisoned had been brough they¡¯re from the camps that didn¡¯t have their own healers but there were far too few to account for every casualty, Erika put it down to the incredible disorganised nature of the shanty town, most of the people brought here had probably just been dumped to die with the actually valuable ones given whatever medicine could be gathered back at their own camps.

    Sigurn however had apparently decided to bring her here so presumable she would soon be extracting more poisoned blood, Erika bit down a sigh and pulsed her Well, letting it ripple soothingly as she tried to measure its depth, she probably had¡­ six left in her? Maybe eight or nine if she didn¡¯t try as hard.

    Sigurn gestured a few of the older of better dressed bystanders over and began to murmur to them which they quickly responded to, their voices starting at a whisper but quickly growing louder and louder until they were howling in each other¡¯s faces.

    ¡°You expect me to believe you have that much hacksilver here?¡±

    ¡°Forty dredge of it! And what do you have?¡±

    Erika wasn''t surprised, her mother had told her just how valuable a healer was in a crisis, Erika was just an apprentice and not specialised enough to be a real healer but against a twilight divines art? Well people would take whatever they could get.

    ¡°Look lady Stelasdottir¡±

    ¡°How dare you be so casual with the Silverblossom!¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to boot lick your way into healing Harjal!¡±

    ¡°Neither will you!¡±

    Kara moved half in front of Erika as one of the most richly dressed delvers took a step towards her whilst still gesturing wildly at Sigurn, the man grumbled but too ka step back when Kara tapped the handle of her hammer, Erika tried not to swoon at how dashing her lover looked.

 Chaos in Camp 4

    A few moments later and the yelling subsided, someone had dragged over a few large oil-soaked torches and lit the crude square up brightly enough for Erika to see the participants sweat beading on their bulging foreheads and the red flush of anger creeping across their skin, neither Merchants nor Jarls were used to bargaining from a position of weakness after all and quite a few of the younger¡¯s heirs looked ready to draw steel if it would get them healing.

    Of course the iratest and most demanding of the jarl heirs were also the least injured, Erika couldn¡¯t feel a drop of the poison in any of them even as a few of their thralls finished dying on the cold stone at their feet, Erika barely kept herself from tutting at the terrible waste and foolish pride on display.

    A moment later the some of the assembled delvers trotted away from Sigurn and dragged three of the wounded to the front by pulling on the leather sheets they rested on, a few more words were exchanged and then runners were sent off presumably to bring the payment back, Sigurn turned to Erika and nodded at the recumbent delvers. ¡°Can you do these three Lady Vitki?

    Erika nodded and accepted the title without issue, presumably even Sigurn needed to show she respected her in front of an audience. ¡°Of course, after that though my well will be noticeably drained.¡± Erika knew not to say exactly how many castings she still had available and she was somewhat gratified to see Sigurn seem to slightly jolt as if realising this at last before leaning in to her side and whispering ¡°about six yeah?¡±

    She thought she really shouldn¡¯t have been surprised, of course Sigurn knew enough about vitki casting to identify well depth on the fly, but it was still ridiculous that any non-vitki understood to that degree¡­ Erika decided to put it down to being a silver rank and just move on.

    The first wounded was a sagaborn from the jarl¡¯s party, despite what Erika had assumed though they were definitely not a jarl they looked like one of the refugees covered in crude tattoos and wearing only a rough jerkin and wool kilt but why would the jarls send this man to her first¡­ oh, Erika grinned as the loudest of the toffs knelt down and took the injured man¡¯s hand in a tight clasp, holding him close and staring into his eyes.

    Ah young love Erika thought, or started thinking, then Kara shifted from her position behind her discernible by the characteristic jingle of chainmail and Erika remembered she really wasn''t in any place to judge.

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    Pulling Odin from her well Erika focused on her flesh shaping magic quickly pulling back muscle and skin leaving tainted blood behind in a puddle on the stone. Having done this three times already Erika was done in a handful of moments. Gesturing for Kara to roll the man back over to this boyfriend Erika focused on her next patient, one of the jarl heirs this time, the pulsing twisting black of twilight divinity curdling in his stomach.

    Erika split the skin of his torso and looked in and oh¡­ oh that wasn''t good. Turning around she stared at Sigurn until she got the message and leant down to put her ear at Erikas mouth.

    ¡°This one has the poison in his heart, I can¡¯t cure him¡­ I mean I''m not curing any of them, just taking the curse out¡­. But I¡­ I can¡¯t remove his heart without him just dying faster¡­ do I¡­¡±

    Sigurn placed a comforting hand on Erika¡¯s shoulder and quieted her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Lady Vitki this kind of thing is expected, you¡¯re doing so well, just let me talk.¡±

    A few more pointed whispers, a few hissed ¡°do you know who he is!¡± and a disapproving stare from Sigurn later and the man is being dragged back into the crowd complaining and arguing at the top of his cough wracked voice.

    Erika just ignored him, she wasn''t wasting her well on a corpse after all, and focused on the next man¡­ this one had poison in his leg and arm, it couldn¡¯t be the food, right? Or was that what she was supposed to think? Erika wasn''t in anyway an expert on twilight divine arts but she would not even slightly be surprised if at least Loki had a way to make a poison you drink or eat appear in the limbs not the stomach, that would be just the kind of trickery that little prick was known for.

    Without really focusing Erika moved skin and bone yet again, this time however one of the peons in the crowd had found a mop and wiped the tainted blood away, he kept up his mopping as the third was summarily dragged out, had his blood removed and was then sucked back into the crowd and borne on shoulders away towards the merchant side of the encampment.

    ¡°How¡¯s your Well Erika?¡±

    Erika jerked slightly as she noticed Sigurn stood right at her shoulder, Kara didn¡¯t seem surprised so she probably hadn''t snuck up, Erika must just have zoned out again when she was focusing on her well which at least meant that she knew the answer right away.

    ¡°It cost me less Odium to do those three, I guess I''m getting the hang of it? I can probably do five more total but remember they aren¡¯t healed, I just remove the poisoned blood, they can still die and they should eat lots of red meat to help regrow their blood.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll see to the food personally, thank you Lady Vitki.¡± Said one of the jarl kids, Erika hadn''t bothered learning their names, she also wasn''t sure where he was planning on finding red meat but maybe Losthope had run into wargs like the expedition did. Warg tasted bad but it was still better than starvation.

 Chaos in Camp 5

    ¡°And in the meanwhile, we need to move, we got a runner from Bors offering to buy your healing for some of his men, we¡¯ve been given an oath of payment by Ragvald and Hakon but Bors has the largest faction in Losthope so we should be able to get a whole lot of silver out of him¡­¡± Sigurn took Erika by the shoulder and gently steered her away and back into the shanty towns streets again with Kara, Gunhilda and Reidar walking in a triangle around her, Erika might have complained about being such a central focus but this wasn''t the time for false modesty or real shyness there were twilight cultists lurking around for a start but primarily there were understandably desperate men and women who were either poisoned or had those they cared for poisoned and they would do whatever they could to get a Vitki¡¯s magic to heal them.

    Erika didn¡¯t in anyway object to only healing for payment in fact quite the opposite, rules on requiring payment had been laid down by Helsdottir herself and as such only those bound by oath and allegiance to a Vitki were to be healed for free, a vitki was discouraged from doing free healing anyone who kept causing trouble after social pressure failed was given a one way ticket to the scholomance the home of the vitki where they could heal for free all they wanted, but only other vitki. Nobody wanted to go back to the days of jarl oaths and being blamed for bad weather and curses, so Vitki ensured they were treated respectfully, even fearfully, with the vitki hierarchy acting as a threat in itself, mess with the vitki as a powerful enough entity (like a dragon or an empire) and you would force Helsdottir, the strongest being in the nine realms, to get off her throne in the heart of the Scholomance and come to rain destruction and woe.

    All of this was an explanation for the instinctive fear that the powerful felt around viktki, especially when they needed them, the powerful weren¡¯t used to people outside of their power which was probably why Bors looked like he¡¯d been punched in the mouth as she sputtered and mumbled his way through thanking Erika for her healing.

    It wasn''t proper healing and she hadn''t done much but she wasn''t going to say that, she¡¯d been led into the camp that Bors lead, like his own personal fiefdom, space being made for her and her escorts in the flood of sobbing children and grieving widows. Unlike the jarls or the merchants the nomads apparently held their injured in a sort of bowl shaped tent, no roof but tall walls, Erika assumed that was a religious thing but she didn¡¯t bother to ask about it, just peeled some people mopped up the blood and put them all back together, luckily for everyone one of the sub-galdr within the flesh shaping galdr itself nullifies all pain it would otherwise cause so the wounded nomads had been oddly cheerful and even chatty even as vitki magic made flesh and skin fly and spin.

    Luckily there didn¡¯t seem to be many people waiting in the nomad¡¯s camp, Erika wasn''t sure if the wounded she wasn''t going to heal were being kept elsewhere or if they had already died¡­ or if their poison needle idea was correct maybe the twilight cultist just hadn''t managed to get many of the nomads? They did keep the most to themselves of any of the groups what with being an actual culture and several families rather than groups of convenience and business like the other three factions.

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    ¡°Here you go your Ladyship¡­ is that the correct title?¡±

    ¡°Close enough.¡± Sigurn nodded taking the bag from Bors hands weighing it in one hand for a moment then passing it to Erika who opened the leather flap and had to force herself not to squeal, this combined with her loot silver from the deserted city beast might be enough to buy the components she needed all on their own!

    ¡°I am very grateful to your aid of my family Lady Vitki.¡± Bors said, his previously fluent command of the language had deserted him it seemed, either because of nerves or because he was trying to sound like a jarl and didn¡¯t quite understand the vocabulary that they used.

    ¡°You paid for it man, make sure they rest and if they don¡¯t then don¡¯t bother calling me back to save them again, not unless you''re happy to pay double.¡± As a vitki Erika was technically part of the jarl caste so her mother had taught her all the fancy speaking ways but as one could probably tell Erika didn¡¯t care for them much.

    ¡°Uh yes ma¡¯am, I will be careful and ensure my family rests.¡±

    Erika was interested to note that in the other two cases Sigurn had taken debt oaths but the nomads apparently had actual silver to spend, maybe it was because they were migrating rather than just travelling? Erika was surprised Bors had brought it personally although Shania wasn''t surprised that that he seemed interested in subtly sounding out how much it would cost to poach her from the Silvermane expedition, not that he could, firstly Erika prided herself on her loyalty and secondly nothing he could pay her was worth a silver rank Chosen acting as her bodyguard, especially not with twilight cultists about.

    ¡°Okay we¡¯re done, how is your Well¡­¡± Sigurn stopped mid-sentence and starred over Erikas shoulder, she didn¡¯t look worried, she looked awed? No, that was two much, surprised? Not quite, the best comparison Erika could think of was the face her sister had made when she was given a really fancy new toy back when they were kids.

    ¡°Ah, Lady Vitki and Sigurn, most excellent to meet thee.¡±

    Erika recognised that wheedling tone but she wasn''t sure about the voice, a chuffing falsetto who¡­ ah Hakon. Erika wasn''t sure why he was here though, she¡¯d already healed his people in the first wave, when she was healing the refugees and the merchants.

    Finishing up, wiping her hands off and stretching till her back clicked Erika turned around and saw Hakon for the second time, he was barely recognisable, his skin a clammy white and his hair torn out at the temples and falling from his hands as he sidled towards her.

    Erika¡¯s immediate reaction was to hurl a bolt of acid, her second reaction was shock at just how fast Sigurn could move, before she could even finish drawing on her well Sigurn had gently pushed her arm downwards and away whilst lifting Hakon by the shirt with her other hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re scaring my cute little vitki Hakon.¡±

 Chaos in Camp 6

    ¡°¡­Sorry boss¡­ I just¡­ it got me! I''m sure of it! I drank some water and now my insides¡­ I¡¯ve got the poison! Please, I need help!¡±

    Looking at Hakon for a long moment Sigurn turned to Erika and raised an eyebrow, Erika rocked her hand back and forth and hummed. ¡°I¡¯ve probably got enough, but I''m charging you extra for leaping out at me.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course, anything anything! Oh, you are most wise and merciful and power and¡­¡±

    Erika tuned out the stale flattery and gingerly reached out to cast her galdr upon him, for a moment it seemed to stick against his skin, Erika recognised it from Sigurn, a powerful Hamr the part of the Sal that was your physical form, veteran delvers tended to gradually strength it without meaning to over a lifetime of fighting which could make their shape hard to shift even with galdr. Erika stuck to just examining him rather than going straight for the unravelling, pushing through his Hamr would be a nightmare and drain her well dry

    ¡°¡­just down past the second level and running of a few wargs that were attracted by the chaos, you know how those things smell weakness, but as I ran, I felt my skin begin to crawl and my stomach twist, I realised I was dying¡­¡±

    But luckily, she didn¡¯t even need to¡­ he was entirely healthy? The pale skin wasn''t being caused by anything Erika could see and the hair loss was just the result of him pulling it out, she could recognise the muscle strain in his fingers and the stress lines in his teeth, also the liquid of fear was pouring out of his glands and filling up his blood but¡­ why this man was a bronze rank? A living weapon who was equal to an entire squad of normal soldiers.

    ¡°¡­The merciful and wonderous vitki would of course be able to heal me if only I could return in time, luckily the centurion was very understanding and even escorted me here since in my poisoned and weakened state even one warg would surely prove my end, thus¡­¡±

    Erika stopped as she remembered something her mother had taught her, she wasn''t sure if it was the case here but mother had told her about a certain type of client, not the worst ones, not even slightly, but ones that always bothered life shaper vitki and wise women alike, a hypnocodiac? Hyperboriac? Highstep condriac? Something like that, people who thought they were ill when they weren¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t leave till, they were cured even though nothing was wrong with them, her mother said just to lie and claim she¡¯d healed them and then charge them double, Erika saw no reason to ignore her mother¡¯s hard-earned experience.

    ¡°My well is drawn nearly dry upon you Hakon, you will owe me a fist of hacksilver for this understood?¡±

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    Hakon nodded in relief as Erika allowed a tiny amount of odium to flow out of her arm and into his skin, then she immediately cut it off and stood back. ¡°It is done, the curse abated.¡±

    ¡°¡­ uh with the others didn¡¯t you have to peel them apart?¡± Hakon asked gingerly running his fingers across his stomach.

    Erika deliberately flared her nostrils and glared. ¡°Do not question my methods!¡±

    ¡°Sorry sorry!¡± Hakon was nearly twice her height and more than double her age but such was the reverence of vitki that he barely managed to meet her eye let alone disagree with her. Deciding she needed to finish it off Erika shook her head and scoffed theatrically. ¡°Good¡­ but if you must know I figured out a way to clean the blood without discarding it after I practised my galdr upon the other injured.¡±

    Skin already colouring again in obvious relief Hakon accepted the lie like a lifeline, grasping Erikas hand and shaking it enthusiastically he reached into his belt pouch and drew out a handful of long silver bars. ¡°Oh, thank you thank you merciful vitki, here this silver should reach a fist weight together, I can feel the cold poison dying in my veins replaced with the warmth of health! Oh, how wonderful the world looks today after being granted a second chance at life!¡±

    Erika honestly hadn''t expected this much and was a little creeped out and a lot worried, surely a bronze shouldn¡¯t be this mentally fragile? Or maybe normal stable people settle down with a career instead of becoming a delver.

    Erika nodded to the man and went to walk away before she noticed something, stood behind the man, lurking in the shadows was a¡­ person? Erika couldn¡¯t tell their gender; they were surprisingly short only nearly the same height that she was but also very very broad but that could be the armour. The armour was the first thing Erika noticed, it wasn''t a breastplate and helmet or a chain shirt like a normal huscarl might wear instead it was a full suit¡­ of armour?

    Erika wasn''t sure what the word was or if there even was a word for what looked like a full second skin of metal. Greaves, gauntlets, boots, pauldrons, even a chain kilt, all layered on top of each other and joined together in such a way as to leave not a single scrap of natural skin visible, nor even any normal clothes just armour layered atop more armour, the helmet was the oddest piece and at the same time the closest to a normal skin, a full cover of course with a wide brim and a strange metal spike protruding directly upwards (were they afraid of birds? Indoors?) and articulated bands of metal along the neck all covered by plates and swathes of chain, its face was a mask carved into a caricature of humanity with wide eyes filled with smoked glass and a grotesque smile that stretched from ear to ear worked directly into the metal, speaking of metal it was a very strange metal.

    It was green¡­ Erika wasn''t an expert but as far as she was concerned armour came in two colours, grey iron or silver steel and maybe bronze if you were in one of those a traditionalist clan that lived near the trunk of Yggdrasil, this armour was green colour so dark it was nearly black and it glistened slightly, it looked more like sap or some expensive syrup than any metal Erika had seen.

 Chaos in Camp 7

    ¡°Oh yes, so sorry!¡± Hakon finally looked up from his self obsession and nodded at the strange person who¡­ replied? Erika wasn''t sure because it wasn''t any language she had ever heard, not even something like a normal language, instead it was a strange songlike repetition, starting and stopping on what seemed like the same sound.

    ¡°Of course of course¡­ uh, Ktehar notera Kterhar.¡± Hakon replied, confirming it was a language even if it wasn''t anything like the languages of midgard, it sounded vaguely like the vanir tongue but still only as like as a donkey is to a horse.

    Hakon turned to Erika and managed a wan smile, ¡°This is¡­ uh¡­ military chieftain would be the closest translation¡­ Pamphilus is his name.¡±

    The man obviously recognised his name being spoken and made a gesture, a sort of salute with his fist on his chest? at Erika who managed to nod back at him.

    Who was this? What was this? what¡­ wait¡­

    ¡°He¡¯s a Vracian isn''t he? One of the others mentioned some were stuck in here with us.¡±

    ¡°Ah yes yes, my caravan met them in the antechamber and.. well i''m the only person who can speak Vracian as such they have graciously allowed me to serve as a translator for them during their time here.¡±

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    ¡°And I''m sure you¡¯re not even being paid for it right?¡± Muttered Sigurn loudly enough for Hakon to hear, he kept smiling with the slightest change but his voice became nearly venomous ¡°Not nearly enough, this things freak me the Hel out, they never take off their armour, never, even sleep in the stuff, I wasn''t sure there was anything living inside them before now.¡±

    ¡°Now?¡±

    ¡°Military chieftain Pamphilus says one of his men might be affected¡­ or infected¡­ or afflicted, look Vracians a complicated language, one of his people is injured but it might not be the same as the rest, he wants to know if you¡¯d be willing to look.

    ¡°Can he pay?¡± Sigurn asked, taking a step forward to half shield Erika in her shadow.

    Hakon nodded still smiling, ¡°You think i¡¯d be working with these freaks if they couldn''t, he¡¯s offering a palm full of gemstones just for her to look and another to fix it, their alchemy either failed or it works two slowly, can''t tell you which, those two words in Vracian are near identical.¡±

    Harkon turned to Pamphilus and said something in Vracian which the Military chieftain replied to with what sounded like almost the exact same looping sing song words that Harkon had used. How did this language even work? Regardless Pamphilus seemed to understand and reaching into a belt pouch he withdrew a closed armoured fist which he held up to Eriak and with some ceremony unfurled.

    Red, green, blue, yellow the dazzling colours nearly seemed to make a chiming sound as they flashed and glowed in the fire lit gloom. A dozen gems the size of a thumb, two dozen the size of a finger tip piled up carelessly on the dark green metal palm.

 Chaos in Camp 8

    ¡°... that will do nicely.¡± Erika said smiling like a shark and sweeping the offered gemstones into one of her belt pouches, the chiming sound they made as they moved was entracing, valuable things always sounded good.

    Pamphilus nodded and said another circling sentence before marching loudly away into the darkness behind him, Erika raised an eyebrow at Hakon who just waved the look away and shrugged helplessly.

    Erika sighed and followed the soldier safe and secure in the knowledge that Sigurn was guarding her, she could hear her footsteps directly behind her keeping pace, if the Vracians did have any sort of unsavory intent they would quickly regret it.

    Heading back into the shadowed area of Hakons camp Erika realised that the otherwise circular room had a strange bulge in it, a half-moon like protrusion, which had been sectioned off from the rest.

    Where Hakons main camp was filled with randomly placed tents, Lean-to¡¯s and even small houses made from carts or stacked detritus taken from the tower crumbling walls, all of which made it seem homely and chaotic, this section was cold and sterile, dim and silent, a dozen identical tents lined up into three perfect rows secured by metal pegs stabbed deeply into the stone of the tower, no braziers or hearths blazed instead from within each and every tent a faint blue glow shone, just barely visible through gaps in the canvas doors.

    It was utterly quiet, eerie and it smelt strangely, like burnt herbs but ancient ones, burned decades ago at least with a faint aftertaste of something sickly sweet, cloying and deeply unpleasant. Half turning her head to make sure Sigurn was still there Erika kept following Pamphilus but she was beginning to understand where Hakon was coming from, especially since in the gloom of their camp the Vracian full body armour was practically invisible turning Pamphilus from a fully armoured soldier into a near invisible wraith flitting ahead of them like a ghost.

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    ¡°Tehra netoo fent netoo tehra.¡± Military Chieftain Pamphilus said before over his shoulder, a moment passed and he seemed to realise that Hakon had stayed behind, he muttered something that Erika could tell was a curse even across the language barrier, after a moment he coughed and seemed to be loosening his jaw for a moment.

    ¡°Herein lieth¡­ thou¡­. patient.¡± He managed all the smoothness gone from his voice as he stumbled and slurred over the words, indicating the tent next to him, apart from its open door it was otherwise identical to every other one, Erika wondered how he even found it.

    Sigurn seemed amused and interested by the Vracians accent but followed silently behind Erika when she entered the tent, which was just as dull inside as outside, Erika had hoped it would be a little homely within but no not at all, a single wood and canvas frame bed in one corner, a pack in the other and a shield and spear in the third, simultaneously empty and full and without a single sign of life.

    Apart from the Vracian soldier of course, lying down on the unfolded bed, still in full armour apart from a single forearm which revealed dusky skin covered in scars which wept colourless fluid into a earthenware bowl on the ground.

    Erika knew what to do by now, it was hardly a puzzle, she called upon her galdr and touched the skin and¡­

    Oooookay this wasn''t the poison.

    This wasn''t divine.

    She honestly had no idea what this was, was that fungus in the soldiers blood?

    Oh and two hearts, can''t forget that, although that didn''t surprise Erika as much, any good life shaper could give someone a second heart although the younger of these two hearts seemed smaller and weaker than life shaping magic would have grown, presumably the famous Vracian alchemy at work, still inferior to galdr of course but what can you expect.

    But back to the matter at hand, fungus, fungi, fungee? Whatever it was, it was in her blood, all of it, down to a deep layer like she¡¯d been born infected by it.

 Chaos in Camp 9

    ok¡­ Erika had no idea how to deal with this, there were a few diseases that could spread into a babe within their mother but not fungal particles like this, they were perfectly distributed across every drop of her blood but they weren''t¡­ doing anything?

    Erika focused her galdr again and stretched out tendrils of power grasping organs and bones and letting her see.

    She still couldn''t see any poison, just fungus, nothing else¡­ or¡­ wait.

    The fungus was quiescent, dormant almost, but there was something in her gut, no wound or poison which left it half hidden by the fungus, like a snowstorm for her inner eyes, but there was something going on in her lower bowel. Her body''s defenders were not active though, instead something was happening with her mucus glands, but that had nothing to do with the bowel.

    The blood was still filled with that damn fungus and it was nearly impossible to see past it, Erika decided she¡¯d just get rid of it and work on whatever that was afterwards.

    Reaching her galdr out, curling it into a net like mass of tendrils she scooped a handful of the fungus¡­

    she scooped a handful¡­

    scooped!

    Ok the fungus was ignoring her galdr, the energy of her well simply phasing through it like light through a glass plane. She could feel something with her galdr tendrils, a pressure on her galdr, but it was distant, further away than it should be, or could be¡­

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    No¡­ NO¡­

    This fungus was still alive, well obviously it was but not like that, it was a living being¡­ a part of a distant living creature¡­ fungus¡­ whatever. But even that wouldn''t be enough to stop her galdr, parasites and diseases were alive two, but this was not just a living thing, it was an ensouled fungus! That''s why she couldn''t affect it, the tiny pieces of fungus in the Vracian woman were still shielded by the soul of the main body.

    Maybe some senior vitki could do something but as far as Erika knew souls didn''t dilute, distance didn''t affect them, it was just as strong a defence here as at its real, main? body. But her galdr couldn''t look for a partial soul, maybe a more advanced galdr could but¡­

    Ok so this woman had living parts of an ensouled fungus inside her, not the strangest thing she''d ever seen¡­ or.. no yeah it was the strangest thing ok.

    But that still didn''t explain why she was dying! And she was dying, her throat was closing, her heart was straining, she wasn''t really asleep even, more in a semi-comatose delirium. What could be doing something like this¡­ it wasn''t poison or fungus or anything exciting, it seemed more like¡­ more like farmers fever? When they were getting the hay in, some even called it hay fever because of that but it wasn''t a disease, it was an abnormality of the blood, but it did nothing worse than make a person miserable for a few days.

    Anyone with such a terrible blood twist would die long before they became an adult¡­ Vracian¡¯s weren''t from Midgard, they came here with the realmgate everyone knew that from a different branch of Yggdrasil. One with different hay perhaps?

    That must be it! It wasn''t poison or fungus, a blood abnormality that would have killed a babe but was only triggered by entering this realm!

    A few taps and Erika purged the lower bowl of all the food within it, destroying the matter rather than helping it be absorbed into the blood. A few moments later she saw signals blazing, tides of strange fluids produced from strange glands in the brain and bowel alike began to slacken and cease, drying up even as her throat unclenched.

    Erika smiled to herself Still got it! she felt triumphant, it really was nice after so many weeks of battle to use her mind and galdr together to forge and smith life properly against.

 Chaos in Camp 10

    Drawing her galdr back Erika finished up as best she could, letting the sorcery fade away back into her well, or as much of it as would return of course. Her patient was already breathing easier, the bowl of fetid fluids under her open forearm had coagulated without a steady flow keeping it moving and as Erika watched the faint green tinted foulness seemed almost to shiver.

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    Once she would have just walked away, once, but she was no longer so innocent.

    ¡°Military Chieftain Pamphilus!¡± She called out, less than ah heartbeat later Pamphilus pushed his way into the tent followed by Sigurn who had apparently been guardian the door whilst Erika was distracted, it was impossible to tell through the full face mask but the fact he had been waiting outside the impromptu sick room implied he actually cared about this soldier which was perfect because Erika had questions and the goodwill would grease the wheels.

    ¡°I have healed this soldier.¡± Erika said, trying to speak slowly and clearly without any complex words or slang terms, she may not speak any other tongues but she was bright enough to know what not to do.

    ¡°I thanketh you for yon time.¡± Pamphilus said his voice was surprisingly not muffled even slightly by the helmet even though the lips of the grotesquely overexaggerated mask were sealed together just like the rest of his armour. Erika assumed it was a Vracian thing maybe even the same thing that let them sleep in heavy armour, but that wasn''t the point what was was that Erika could hear the relief in his voice, this wasn''t just a leader and soldier, these two were either family or lovers which made the next part easier.

    ¡°It wasn''t poison, instead she ate food she shouldn''t, I don''t know what.¡±

    ¡°Should not?¡±

    ¡°Food that is poison to her but not to others, because you are from another realm.¡± Erika slowly  enunciated, watching the man gently buckle up the soldiers gauntlet before opening a slot on her mask and pressing a leather sack¡¯s spout into it, a few gurgling sounds let Erika guess it was one of their famous alchemical concoctions since it definitely didn''t smell like water.

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    ¡°The bowl of blood on the floor is bad.¡± She said simply watching the Military Chieftain carefully, unfortunately he just seemed no plussed looking between it and her.

    ¡°Yes¡­ it is rotten.¡± He said slowly, as if he thought Erika hadn''t understood, she sighed and decided that was subtle enough for the day.

    ¡°What is that fungus stuff in her blood?¡±

    The Vracian froze, as still as a statue, like the gods had struck him dead. In the silence Erika continued, her voice rising and becoming less steady as curiosity overwhelmed her.

    ¡°It''s a living fungus isn''t it? a plant? but it''s not just living life, it''s living like a person alive, it''s got a soul! but not here and since I know where the Vracians came from¡­. it must be from Vannaheim right? after the vanir left you found something, some plant monster!¡±

    The Military Chieftain was quiet for a good long time, seconds ticking by awkwardly in the yawning silence, before he turned to Erika and spoke, not in the strange archaic formality or in the looping language from before but instead in a perfect Jarls dialect.

    ¡°Can you cure it, Lady Vitki?¡±

    Erika¡¯s smile vanished and she sighed and crumbled down into her robe slightly. ¡°No no i can''t¡­ but if you have another Vikti check her they might? Some of the older ones have galdr that I can barely understand.¡±

    Pamphilus shook his head as his shoulder sank. ¡°No Lady Vitki, even your elders failed to destroy the lotus infestation¡­ it was merely a wild hope that you might do the impossible.¡±

    ¡°... how did she get something like that affecting her?¡± Erika asked but was shocked to hear Pamphilus laugh, a quiet groan like laugh but one all the same.

    ¡°She didn''t Lady Viki, we all have it, everyone in Vanaheim does.¡±

    Pamphilus turned back towards the bed and, uncorking a vial from his waist, dropped a few drops in the bowl which began to smoke, seconds later colourless flames roared up consumed the rotting fluids and faded away, only then did he turn back to Erika who wa still open mouthed.

    ¡°I see your elders did not tell you? We sought their help shortly after we arrived in your realm¡­ after study they told us only Helsdottir had the power to free us from our curse.¡±

    Erika could barely wrap her head around the horror of that much power being needed, what empires must have fallen to this fungus, what realms must it have destroyed, if Helsdottir was the only cure to this. She barely noticed as Pamphilus handed her another gauntlet full of sparkling gems and ushered her out of the tent.