Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 424: CDXXIV. The Okstorm Delegation

"We came here because we heard that your commander, Lord Kranus, is in Tungvek. We bring important messages to him from our Clans." 

The guard did not immediately answer but turned first to look at his colleagues, until one of them nodded his head, giving him a confirmation to continue with the questions as if the interrogation was divided into stages.

"How do you know our commander? Who told you his name? He never set foot in your shitty nation" chuckled the man again, who with those words, risked making Kjell nervous, who, by shaking the reins of the horse, kept his composure.

"We never met him in fact, we only know his name. And I'm sure he knows the name of our commander: Dag, the Exiled."

As soon as the Crows Of Odin's Master Of Offense uttered that name, the guards jolted and immediately pulled out their weapons, pointing them at the three adventurers.

"What did you just say? Dag?! Dag the earthling?!" 

"Yes, that's right. That's him. He sent us here to ask Lord Kranus for a formal meeting. Believe us, we don't like your nation very much either, we came here just for this reason, to execute an order of our Warchief" Kjell continued, who when he began to smell fear in the guards, tried to use a less condescending tone.

The guard, before responding to his taunts, pointed his long, sharp spear at his neck, threatening him.

"How dare you present yourself here with such insolence?! This is the home of our Clan, and you muddy it with your presence?! Your leader killed the commander's youngest son, what makes you think we won't kill you right now?!" 

Kjell held the horse still, noticing that at the moment of the noise he began to panic and immediately then looked into the eyes of the guard.

He approached his neck to the blade and its tip caused a small cut, puncturing his skin and causing a drop of blood to pour down his neck.

When he provoked his enemy, looking at him with a look that would make anyone shudder, Kjell noticed that his hands holding the spear trembled like two leaves in the wind.

"If you allow me to say an additional word... we don't ask to enter your city without warning, it would be bad for both of us, believe me. But please, let your commander know we're coming. Tell Lord Kranus that we are here, outside his gates, respecting his land" Kjell continued, who, when he turned his neck away, destabilized the guard, who stepped back, taking a deep breath.

All the men in front of the gate didn't know how to behave and began to look for a solution, looking at each other, until one younger than the first, took courage and said: "If we killed you here and now, we could easily spare our commander such bad news. No one would notice anything and the crows would devour your carcasses in a few days." 

"No one would notice anything, ah? Not even our Warchief? I don't know, maybe he might get suspicious by not seeing us go home, what do you say? Ah, one more thing... you probably weren't in Runar, the Okstorm region that was attacked by your fleet, and you may not have known that our leader killed more than 40 of your warriors in one fell swoop. What if he wanted to unleash his fury on this town? I am sure that there are also innocent people living there who..." 

"Okay, that's enough! All right, you've convinced us! We will send someone to call our commander, but I do not assure you that he will come out here in person just to talk to losers like you!" the first guard replied, who thinking of the disastrous consequences that might have had that reckless gesture, reconsidered Kjell's peaceful offer.

"But remember, try it properly" the chain-warrior said again, with his mocking smile painted on his face and winking at them.

A guard approached the wall next to the two stone slabs of the gate, where there was a small square opening in the rock.

A warrior approached it from the other side, waiting for orders, and the guard told him to urgently report to Commander Kranus that a delegation sent by Dag had just arrived at the gates of Tungvek and was waiting for a verbal confrontation with him.

The guard behind the walls, before accepting the task and performing it as quickly as possible, tried to lean further from the opening, curious to see the faces of the men in question.

Kjell, accustomed to making fun of friends and enemies, greeted that warrior with his hand as if they knew each other.

After that funny gesture, everything was again shrouded in silence, disturbed by the noises of the daily life of those who resided beyond the walls, such as that of wagons and cattle, of people who spoke loudly and of artisans doing their jobs.

The three adventurers waited more than ten minutes in the same position and in the meantime got off the horses and gave them something to eat, to prevent them from refusing to bring them back to the Fort due to exhaustion.

After the wait that seemed endless, during which the guards looked at Kjell and the others with a confused look, a warrior slid out of the window next to the door.

"Commander Kranus has been warned!" he said, calling one of the guards outside.

Before anyone else could speak, a loud noise of wheels rumbled around them, deafened by that noise.

At the same time, the door's gigantic stone slabs, more than 8 meters high, began to move sideways, flowing with small, sturdy wheels on tracks dug specifically to allow it to open.

Orvar, Kjell, and Terje were astonished by the colossal moving structure and held the horses still, trying not to make them shake.

"What does this mean?" Kjell asked, who had not heard the guard speak inside the walls.