Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 463: CDLXIII. In The Middle Of Nowhere

After him, a group of warriors did the same, escorting the King to the Fort's exit, even though it was only about ten meters far.

The archers of the Hunters Of Ullr were already positioned on the towers and promptly opened the gates to their 'new' King, who with the usual haughty and careless expression of the episode that had just happened, came out.

The four horses that the Krypstorm Clan was equipped with were immediately untied from their seats in the stable and dressed in the usual half-broken leather armor, to allow them to withstand the cold, not knowing how far the ship that would escort them to Okstorm was.

Gridd, Karl, Reidar, Sander, Kjell, and Egill instead walked in the footsteps of the horses of the Chromed Army soldiers, followed in silence by their warriors, who, having relaxed from the initial fear, began to chat with each other again.

"Reidar..." Gridd said, calling the attention of the archer who was walking beside her.

"Tell me, Gridd." 

"I'm afraid for them." 

"Are you afraid for Dag and Freydis? You just hugged me... I thought you were happy about their escape" he replied.

"Yes, indeed I am. I'm happy, but I'm also scared. Although I understood he was about to leave the Fort, I didn't say goodbye to him as I should have. and now I'm afraid I'll never see him again..." 

"Do you really think the Captain won't survive Krypstorm?" Reidar asked again, who now had a high degree of confidence and could avoid certain formalities.

"I don't say that. I'm just scared. It's a feeling I can't suppress, no matter how hard I'm trying not to think about it. It's inside me... I'm afraid I won't see my brother again" she continued, looking ahead and never stopping walking, slightly decentralizing from the middle row with her friend.

"It's normal to be afraid, it would be wrong not to be. Only a fool is never afraid. Every time I fear for my life, I always think about the same thing... do you want to know what it is?" the archer asked, smiling.

Gridd nodded. 

"I think back to the night when my sacred Temple Of Orn was attacked by surprise by the Fangs Of Jormungandr, capable of turning into reptilians... it was terrible, I remember those eyes in the darkness, their tails and their lizard bodies. That night it was not only my life that was in danger but also that of all my companions. If the enemy Clan had won the battle, the Hammers Of Thor would have been wiped out forever, as would all the ancient scrolls in our library."

"I don't understand, Reidar... how can such a bad memory help you drive away fear?" 

"I don't just remember the screams of my comrades being killed... I remember another detail, that of a boy, which I had barely seen twice, who with a strength and courage that only he possesses, pounced on his enemies, at the cost of losing his life for the cause. He didn't just do it to save us and the Temple, no... the Captain did so to defend his dignity and the name of the God of Thunder, the mighty Thor. The fire in his eyes was more blazing than the Sun itself, and the enemies trembled before him, calling the retreat." 

"I would have loved to have seen that moment... I would have loved to fight alongside you... if only the Clans had already been united... if only the Iron Alliance had been born earlier..." Gridd commented, that she could only imagine what happened that night, during which Dag regained the trust of his allies.

"The Captain has a spirit as hard as metal and his warrior pride is stronger than the threats he has been forced to face in the past and will face in the future. 'Dag, the Exiled'... this nickname has always suited him... look, Gridd, even now that he could return to Okstorm peacefully and leave Krypstorm's mission to the King's men, he decided to walk away and follow his lonely path. I'm not afraid for him, because every time I look at him and feel safe, I think back to how far he's gone to become what he's become... and the fact that he did it all on his own, without anyone's help. Fighting alongside him has been the greatest honor of my life." 

...

Dag and Freydis' feet continued to sink in the snow, creating useful furrows for Thalos to figure out the direction of the path.

After about half an hour from the Fort, around them, there was nothing but a white expanse, which stretched to the horizon on each side.

"Where is the road Kranus would have taken to Fort Hvit?" Freydis asked, with a fur scarf covering her neck and lower face, protecting her from the cold.

"I don't know, Freydis, it should have been right here, in front of us... I think it snowed a lot tonight and the trail was fully covered... we just have to orient ourselves with the Sun and walk northeast, in the direction of Tungvek" Dag said, also covered in many layers of fur, which would have warmed his body during the long walk, keeping his muscles ready to activate in case of need.

The arduous walk continued for another 20 minutes, but of the trail and Kranus, no trace.

The two warriors saw a large tree with a very dark trunk, almost black, and thick green canopy covered with snow. 

"Look at that tree, alone in the middle of nowhere. It has to be really strong to withstand these temperatures" Freydis said, looking at it carefully.

"Let's go, let's get closer to get some rest... it seems it's calling us" Dag said, making sure there were no enemies on horseback behind them.

When they reached the foot of the majestic tree, with a trunk very thick and about five meters high, they left their bags on the ground and moved the excess snow on the terrain, so that they could sit comfortably to rest.