Bothvar Beorcolsson
The cave is just how I left it. The entrance was still walled up with the door securely shut. I don’t waste time entering the cave. I grab my armor and don it. With my weapons in hand, I take one look at the hammer that hasn’t moved, shaking my head before I rush out as quickly as I can as I see the giant ships reach the harbor. They’re much faster than I anticipated. I need to get back now!
I run as fast as I can. The armor is a little heavier than I remember, but I don’t let it slow me. I need to be more vigilant. I’ve become too slack. Too comfortable these past few cycles raising Thora. I’ve forgotten the need to remain strong.
The boats dock and men as tall as trees leap out, smashing our docks. They’ve got axes and swords as large as men. I enter the side gate to watch guards reluctantly charge the tree-size giants, only to get swept aside with a single swing of a giant’s gigantic sword. They were swatted away as if they were flies.
A sudden burst of fire erupts at the giant, engulfing it. It swings widely in a panic before it falls back into the water, creating a splash the size of our buildings. I look to the source of the flame to see Thon, the stranger, with his blade drawn and his hand held out. Lightning erupts from it and crashes into the water, frying several Jotnar.
More giants crash to shore as they leave their ships. Some of their ships crash into our docks, smashing them along with our ships. The Giant’s ships alone are four times the size of our own and taller than our walls. I can feel my own hands trembling.
I shake off my fear and charge at them. The closest one meets my charge with his ax raining down from over his head. I get my sword up in time to deflect the coming blow, but it makes my knees buckle as I drop to one. They’re strong. Real strong. I slice the giant’s shin with my ax and it drops to one knee. After I shrug off his sword, my blade slices off his other leg before my ax finds his throat as he falls. The crashing sound of their weapons smashing our buildings makes my ears pop and pound. It’s disorienting.
Before I can react, I’m sent through the air with a swift kick from a giant that’s so tall it could touch the roofs of our buildings without standing on its toes. I burst through the walls of the house behind me as I crash to the floor. That hurt. That hurt a lot. A groan escapes my lips as I try to breathe. It takes a second to find my breath. The wind got knocked right out of me. I think I cracked a rib. It hurts to breathe. I force myself back onto my feet, noticing women and children hiding, eyes full of fear and tears. I wave my hands at them. “Run to the forest!”
I charge back out of the house as the giants bash their way through our town. However, a good many of them have died from the magic and blade of the spell sword. I have no idea what kind of magic he’s using, but his strange sword seems to suck the life out of them when it pierces into them. I’m glad we didn’t make him our enemy.
Aldam Bronzehammer leaps from the top of a building and brings his massive Warhammer down on the head of a giant, bashing his skull into porridge as his brains splatter everywhere. The dwarf charges at another one, leaping aside of a downward chop of the giant’s ax before he swings his hammer against his knee. The giant roars out in agony as his knee buckles before Aldam swings and hits the back of his other knee, sending him crashing to the ground. He leaps on him and squashes his head like a pumpkin.
I duck out of a slash that destroys the wall behind me. Pain seizes my side as an enormous fist smashes against my head, slamming me into the rubble of the wall behind me. I barely get my sword up as his blade comes crashing down. I deflect the blow to the side and roll into his sword, causing him to drop it. Forcing myself up, I push through the blinding pain as my blade guts the giant, sending his intestines falling out. As he tries to keep them in, my ax finds his heart.
Several men try to form a shield wall, but the giant’s ax breaks the shield wall apart with a swipe as if it were nothing. The shields don’t stand a chance against their mighty blows. The men get chopped apart. I let out a roar and charge the giant. Before he can face me, I chop off his leg. Like a tree, he crashes against the ground in a loud crack. My ears are ringing, but it doesn’t stop me from sinking my sword in its back straight through his heart. At least, that’s where I think his heart is.
I rally the survivors of the shield wall to me. “Swarm around them like wasps and attack their legs. Bring them down to our size and go for the throat or heart.”
They all nod. My father and his friends make it back and it takes all four of them to fight a single giant. But they manage to bring it to its knees and kill it just as I described.
I charge at one about to catch them by surprise and cut its hamstrings, dropping it to all fours before I leap on its back, sending it crashing to the ground from my weight. My blade sinks into its spine, severing it. Father meets my eyes with a nod of thanks.
The men of the shield wall swarm another, hacking at the giant’s legs and taking the giant down. Still, more cause destruction in our town. I meet the charge of another, dropping to my knees, barely missing the side-swing of its giant, boulder-sized hammer. My ax chops at the giant’s ankle and it comes crashing down to where I knelt as I roll to my side onto my feet and sink my ax into the back of his neck.
Vog, Solmund, Griotgard, and Skardi swarm another, slashing at its legs while dodging its blows. They bring it down and slice off its head. Koll rallies his sons and daughters to him and they attack another like bees swarming a bear after its honey. My cousins obey my uncle’s commands to distract and attack. My uncle draws his attention while his sons and daughters slash at the giant’s legs, bringing him down while my uncle slashes his throat.
My aunt Ingithora brings out a torch and starts spitting fire at the giants, burning them alive.
Several of the other captains rally their crews into the fight. Rodmar Asulfdottir leads a charge of men as they overcome a giant, sending bolts attached to chains into their arms and legs. It takes at least five men to secure an arm as they pull the giant down and hack at it, chopping off its arms and legs before severing its head off.
Brynhild fends off one, ducking and dodging its wild strikes before her son, Thorvir, leaps off the top of a roof, and drags his blades down the giant’s back. He is full of rage as he howls in fury before he lunges at another, slashing the insides of its thighs, bringing him down. The boy knows how to fight, but I’m even more impressed with his strength. He seems to get stronger as the rage in him burns hotter. I’m completely shocked as he catches a hammer blow with his hands and yanks it out of the grip of a giant. How is he so strong? He can even wield the hammer and breaks the legs of the giant with it before smashing its head into the ground. This boy isn’t mortal.
Lightning rips through the air and strikes a giant charging at me. I look back to see Thon nodding at me before sending a hail of fire at three of the giants, burning them alive.
Within the blink of an eye, he’s gone and his blade sinks into a giant’s chest. His skin shrivels up as life drains from his eyes, leaving them white and soulless. The skeletal body, wrapped in black shriveled skin, falls with a clunk from Thon’s blade. What is he?
I barely have time to duck as a sword as wide as my shoulders cleaves through the air where my head was. It chops down at me, crashing into the ground where I stood as I swipe my sword up and chop its hand off, spraying the thick, dark blood all over. It screams loud enough to shatter the clay pots behind me. I send it falling when my ax hacks its knee in two. I wobble and sway as my ears bleed.
Shaking my head, I don’t give it much time to cry out as my blade meets its neck. A loud horn blows out and the giants retreat back to their ships, taking slaves. I chase after one and chop at its feet, sending it crashing to the ground with a woman and a boy in its arms. Its head feels the slice of my sword before I pry the woman and child from its arms. They’re hurt, but okay. I go after another one, carrying away a little girl in its hand. I dart after it and slice the hand off, catching the girl. It howls in agony, swinging wildly without looking. I slice into its thigh and bring my blade up his torso, slicing him nearly in half as his organs all fall out.
The rest manage to get to their ships and sail off with some of our people as thralls. I look back at our town and see the devastation they’ve left in their wake. Most of the buildings have holes in them. At least the ones that are left standing. Quite a few are demolished. Men lay dying next to the corpses of both giants and Krakens. Our harbor is in ruin. At least the seaside harbor. The bay side is still intact, but most of the ships on the seaside are wrecked beyond repair. Thankfully, most of our raiding ships are in the bay.
I can barely move without mind-numbing pain shooting from all over my body, especially my cracked ribs and my ears. My father, Koll, Einar, and Throst are still alive as they help others. Same with my cousins and my friends. I take the little girl and make my way to them.
There are just as many giant corpses littering the ground as there are our own people. However, most of them are smoldering corpses or shriveled-up skeletons with pale, decayed skin clinging to bone. I can’t imagine what kind of magic this Thon uses to do that, but it’s clear most of the dead giants were killed by his hand. What would’ve happened if he weren’t here? We’d be sheep in the hands of wolves. And here I thought I was strong, but the giants proved just how weak I really am.
The survivors all wander around, lost and confused. Their faces are covered in debris and their clothes are tattered.
I spot Solmund, Griotgard, and Skardi stumbling through the mess of rubble. Even Gorm survived, but as a coward, as he and his men trail back in from the woods. Most of the captains made it out okay, too.
But Herlu Hallbjornsson lies in two pieces. I found Gellir Oswaldsson’s head, but not his body. The girl I saved clings to me, sobbing as we walk up to my father. I can barely hold on to her, as the pain is all-consuming. He gives orders out to those who aren’t wounded. “Gather up the wounded and bring them to my hall.”
He points at another. “You get some men together to collect the dead. We’ll need groups of men to move the giant corpses so we can burn them. Send a messenger to the Builders for aid in restoring our buildings. You there, go out to the woods and fetch my family. We’ll need my wife and Sigvor to help heal the wounded. Send them to my hall along with Ingithora. Send another messenger to the Valkyrie to see if they have any healers they can spare.”
My father meets my eyes as I set the child down and take off my helmet. “You did well, my son. I’m proud of you. If it weren’t for you and that Thon, our town would’ve fallen completely.”
“The spell sword was far more effective than me. Most of the dead giants were from his magic and his blade,” I say, as I hold my side.
“That might be so, but I don’t know anyone else who could take these giants on alone besides you and the wizard warrior,” father says, looking around.
“That Stormborn, Thorvir, could match their strength. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. He caught the blow of a hammer and ripped it right out of the Giant’s grasp before bashing it with its own hammer. Aldam was also able to go toe to toe with them. I saw him kill many giants with his hammer. But that spell blade… It’s a good thing we didn’t make him an enemy,” I say with a heave.
“Speaking of the spell blade, where is he?” My father looks around.
“I see him,” I say as I spot him by the sea, looking out at the fleeing giants.
“Where’s my child? My baby? My girl. They took her!” a woman covered in dust and dirt yells frantically. I recognize her as Sigrid, wife to Thialfi, who served on my brother’s ship. I look down at the girl. Her face is too dirty to recognize.
“Sigrid, is this her?” I ask.
She rushes over to me, and her eyes widen as she rushes to pick up the child. “Maria, thank the gods you’re alright. I… I thought they… Nevermind.”
She turns to me with eyes full of tears. “Thank you, Bothvar Beorcolsson. Thank the gods for you. You saved my daughter.”
I don’t know what to say, so I just nod. Then I leave her and follow my father, limping over to Thon as he still stands at the edge of the shore, looking out at them.
“That was just a raiding party,” he says as we walk up to him.
“That’s what I thought. They used our own tactics against us. We were as good as defenseless against them. If it weren’t for you, my son, and our brave warriors, our entire town would’ve been lost and they would’ve been able to take whatever they wanted. You’re welcome to your pick of my gold. Nothing I have will be enough to repay you. Our village will forever be in your debt,” my father says.
He only looks at my father and nods. “That’s what I do.”
“Where will you go? You’re welcome to stay here. We could use a man like you. You could make good money raiding with us,” my father says.
“That’s not my way. I mostly kill monsters and hunt down criminals. I don’t care to fight in wars or raids. I don’t pick sides. Those who need killing are the ones I go after. The Jotnar surely needed killing. They’ll be back, though. You’ll need to set up better defenses. I suggest building up a wall big enough to rain fire down upon them. You can boil oil and let loose flaming arrows. But you’ll need to reinforce the wall with a metal strong enough to hold against their assaults. That’ll make them think twice. Maybe adding some ballistae and trebuchets wouldn’t hurt either. Also, it would help if you had casters. The Jotnar, like most, are weak to magic. Especially fire. But they also have casters of their own. We were lucky we didn’t meet any of them. Worst of all, they like to use necromancers who can raise the dead. Forbidden magic by most standards, but to Jotnar, they don’t think the same way. Fire works well against the undead, same with Divine and Arcane magic. However, Celestial Magic doesn’t.”
My father nods. “Sound advice.”
The two meet each other’s eyes. “Are you sure you won’t change your mind and raid with us? We need magic users to take on the elves. You’d make plenty of gold.”
Thon shakes his head. “That is not my way.”
“Fair enough,” my father says, shrugging. “It was just a suggestion. If you change your mind, we will always have room for warriors like yourself.”
“I’ll see to your wounded,” the spell sword says. Then he eyes me. “You look like you could use some healing. Here, let me…”
I shake my head. “See to those who need it more. I’ll survive.”
My father nods. “Your aid in healing will be much appreciated.”
Thon nods and walks past him before he stops at me. He puts a hand on my shoulder. “You were effective at killing them. The others seem to rally your lead. Thanks to you, they learned how to fight them. I’ll remember you, Bothvar. I see you’ve been eating the Luminescent Emerald Mushrooms. You’ll want to gather as many of those as you can for the wounded. Along with the Nedraetium water that gave you your strength. That’ll help your people recover and grow stronger.”
I nod and the man walks away towards the keep up the hill, which, surprisingly, was hardly touched. My father steps up. “The water and mushrooms he talked about. Are these the same you gave us at the end of the long night?”
I nod. “The mountains are rich with them.”
“Who all knows about them?” he asks.
I look up at the mountains, forever shrouded in clouds. “As far as I know, only Solmund, Griotgard, Skardi, and I. Thorkel, Asfrid, Arngunn, and we spent many summer days exploring the caves up in the mountains when you went raiding. Although I think the dwarf, Aldam, knows of the metal and the mushrooms. He has a hammer made out of it and wields it quite well. He originally told us about it long ago.”
“You foolish children. Do you know what lives up in those mountains?” he says.
I meet my father’s eyes. “All too well.”
“Is this where you found your armor and weapons? It’s like Aldam’s hammer. A hammer too heavy for anyone else to lift,” father says.
“I made them from the glow rocks up in the mountains during my self-exile. It’s what Thon and Aldam called Nedradum or whatever. The metal is definitely heavy, but it is stronger than any other. It can slice through iron as if it were water. But I couldn’t lift it until I tempered my body through lots of hard work. It took me all winter to be able to wield it as well as I can now.”
“And you gained the strength to wield this metal by drinking the water and eating those mushrooms? Is that what made your skin the shade of iron?”
“I don’t know if it is the mushrooms or the water. I think someone told me it was the mushrooms. The water helped make me strong, but my true strength came from hard work. I forged my body to be as hard as the metal I made this armor and these weapons with. I believe the water only gives you the potential to be stronger. Without the hard work to gain the strength, you won’t become stronger.”
“Why didn’t you share this with me?” father asks, his eyes growing hard.
“It was difficult, and it was painful. Besides, after I lost my wife and child, I made a vow to give up the pursuit of revenge in order to look after Thora. That is all that matters to me now,” I say.
My father sighs. “I understand your pain, my son, but we all need to grow strong now that we have met a foe unlike any other. You see the destruction it brought to our town? It made our walls look like a fence of twigs. They broke our buildings as if they were made of straw. Who knows when they will be back, but I know they will return eventually. We need to be ready for them.”
I nod, seeing the wisdom in his words as I look out at the ruins of our village. But then I spot Gorm and his captain Thrain Haklangsson, who spent the entire fight in the woods. Cowards. I know all too well the dangers of giving strength to all. Imagine if Gorm gained this strength or worse, the Bone Eaters. “We need to be careful, father. This strength could be used to harm those we seek to protect. We cannot let men like Gorm gain this strength.”
“You are right, my son. You’ve grown much from that boy I remember. The boy who used to cling to his brother’s side. You no longer hide in his shadow, but cast your own shadow to protect our people. I am proud of you,” he says, resting his hand on my shoulder. “Here is what we will do. Once you heal up, you will take those you trust to train in the caves until we can salvage whatever we can to raid. Take Griotgard, Solmund and Skardi along with Einar, Koll, and Throst. We’ll start with them, along with Thormar. We’ll hold off with Bodvar and Svala for now. Take them to the caves and show them how to get strong after we get things settled down here. I’ll join you all once I can. Then once they make enough progress, we’ll bring their children and the crew members we can trust. I’ll convince your mother to allow Svala and Bodvar to come.”
I nod. “I’ll do as you ask, father. However, I would like to have Thora train as well. She may be young, but are you ever too young to gain the strength to defend yourself?”
“I will allow it. I will just have to convince your mother of it. For now, let’s stick with those I mentioned. She’ll come to train with Svala and Bodvar.” I nod, accepting it. For now, I limp and help move as many of the wounded as I can to the hall, pushing through the searing pain that overwhelms me. It’s hard to breathe, but I can’t rest. Not until our people are safe and healed.
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