It was a hard season when my father and his men returned from the war defeated. Vandil, the Southern Tyrant king, defeated and killed our King Teowulf. He marched upon his throne in Chillshore and captured it, leaving it in the hands of the Southern Tyrants. They\u2019re usurpers. My father and the rest of the clans fled back to their Strongholds and villages, hidden from the Southerners and preparing for an attack that never came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our town spent the entire summer season building up our defenses and looking out for a battle that never came. We lacked the resources we normally have that never came to be. Walls were built by the Builder clan with spikes and towers for archers. Father had a barricade and armory built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time winter arrived, without raiding we didn\u2019t have the resources we needed and many people died because of it. Fortunately, my family and friends all survived. We were blessed by the gods. Our clan has always been faithful servants of the gods. When spring finally came, my father and his men were eager to get out to sea, leaving my mother in charge. All of us – my older brother, Thorkel, my younger brother, Thormar, and myself – were free to do as we pleased without the rigorous routines my father enforces on us, as long as we continue to learn our crafts. My younger sister, Svala, and my youngest brother, Bodvar, are far too young to join us, and this would be my older brother\u2019s last summer as a boy before he joins my father on raids as he becomes a man. He\u2019s excited about it, but I will miss having Thorkel around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Father makes us spend much of our free time learning crafts. He tells us we\u2019ll never know when we need to know it, for it could save our lives. Most crafts seem to be tedious and time-consuming. Some are not quite manly, but we\u2019re forced to learn it anyway. Like how to stitch clothing. Or how to weave and to cook. Women\u2019s tasks if you ask me. We also learn how to fletch, chop trees and split wood, build fires and houses, and gather herbs, which is far more difficult than I ever imagined. So many herbs. And it\u2019s hard to tell which ones will kill you and which ones will cure some strange illness. My Aunt Sigvor, my mother\u2019s older sister, was quite thorough in teaching us what to look for in herbs and how to test whether they are poisonous or actually help with sickness. Most of the time, she just uses them on animals to see what happens. She is our town’s Wise One. The one everyone goes to for their illnesses, sicknesses, or any other herbal remedy or concoction. I\u2019ve even seen a man come to her needing something for his wife\u2019s bum because he stuck\u2026 Well, I don\u2019t need to go into detail about that. Some things I will never understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We spend a lot of time chopping wood. I think it\u2019s slave work and I don\u2019t like it, but regardless, father won\u2019t budge. Eventually, he tells us that chopping wood is a good way to develop our swing with an ax and build our strength. Same with cutting trees. However, father is always criticizing the way we swing our axes. Always telling us we\u2019re doing it wrong and we need to use our legs more. I don\u2019t understand. How can you swing an ax with your legs? Eventually, he explains that the power behind the swing comes from our legs. It starts in our legs and moves up our body to our arms. You bend your knees to start, but as you bring your ax above your shoulder, you straighten your legs out in a stretch. Then, when you bring the ax down, you bring it with the full force of your body and end in a crouch position. Like a squat, not as much as if you were taking a shit, but with your knees should be slightly bent. If done right, your full body should be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By far my favorite skills are those we learn from the dwarf, Aldam Bronzehammer. He\u2019s a grumpy, bald dwarf with a thick, long, braided, auburn beard that hangs down to his belt and stays tucked under his apron. The dwarf is thick with muscle, which he has forged with his hammer and pickaxe. He\u2019s got dark iron skin that looks like metal. He teaches us many skills. How to prospect ore, how to mine it, how to smelt it, and how to forge it into tools and weapons. Of course, to a dwarf, weapons are just tools of the killing sort. The body is the true weapon. And I find swinging a pickaxe is much like swinging a wood chopping ax. You do the same motion, and Aldam is quick to criticize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We spend much of our youth with the dwarf. He grumbles much of the time, complaining about our efforts, but I can tell he enjoys our company. We travel with him up the mountains, finding coal and iron. There\u2019s plenty of it, along with some strange glowing mushrooms and glowing ore. Aldam tells us we are not ready for the glowing ore, it\u2019s too heavy for us. That ore is for experts, and the mushrooms will turn your skin dark but have many benefits such as healing and increasing your senses. It is hard work, mining the raw materials we need, and it takes all three of us to push and pull the cart down the mountain full of the ore. Once we get back to his little shop, we have to refine it and get all the crude from it. We run it through water several times to get the dirt off, and then we heat it up with charcoal and pound it with a hammer to get rid of the slag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPut your balls into it. Swing that bloody hammer with all your body,\u201d the dwarf yells as we beat on the heated metal. We spend much of our time pounding the iron with our hammers. He makes us switch hands so we don\u2019t make one side too much stronger than the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After we\u2019ve refined it, then we get to make something out of it. Of course, it\u2019s not always the stuff we want to make, like weapons. Most of the time, its nails, hammers and ax heads, knives, cooking pots and pans, horseshoes, belt buckles, chisels, and other boring tools. He shows us how to make moldings for them, which is hard in and of itself. Thorkel always tries to engrave the same symbol on everything he works on and owns. I think it\u2019s supposed to be a hammer, but I don\u2019t know for sure. \u201cWhy do you put that on everything?\u201d I ask scratching my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thorkel looks at me with an eyebrow raised. \u201cDo you really have to ask? It\u2019s Thunar\u2019s hammer! You know\u2026 Mjolnir. It gives me protection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOooh. I see,\u201d I say, wide-eyed. The name Mjollnir and Thunar ring inside my head for some reason. As if I\u2019ve heard those names many times before. \u201cI\u2019m going to do it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow you\u2019re just copying me,\u201d Thorkel says with a sigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aldam sighs. \u201cYou call that a hammer? Looks like a goat turd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I laugh, and then Aldam looks at my work. \u201cBoy, do you not know your head from your arse? Because that ax head looks like you took a shit on the anvil and beat it into a bloody lump.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Thorkel and Thormar laugh. Aldam turns on both of them, and his eyes dart to Thormar\u2019s work. \u201cWhat kind of horse hoof are you looking at? That shoe looks like it\u2019d fit on a ram\u2019s arse rather than the hoof of a horse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t even think about asking him a question to which he thinks you should know the answer, which is something Thormar does constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan iron be made any stronger?\u201d my annoying little brother asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoes a bear shit in the woods?\u201d the dwarf asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI suppose it does. But I guess it could also shit in a cave or a river. Or maybe in the mountains,\u201d Thormar replies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And of course, Aldam drags his hand down his face. And without surprise, Thorkel slaps Thormar up on the backside of his head. \u201cDo you ever shut up, brother?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey! I was just asking,\u201d Thormar replies. I feel like we have this very same conversation three or four times a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can make steel out of iron with coal that burns hot enough. We call it coke. There\u2019s this stuff in the air we breathe that we need in order to live. They call it oxygen and then the stuff you breathe out that these plants need is called carbon dioxide. Which is made of carbon and oxygen. The carbon part is what we need to turn iron into steel. Fires breathe it as well. To make steel, bars of wrought iron are layered with powdered charcoal in stone boxes and heated. After about 168 hours, the iron would absorb the carbon in the charcoal. Repeated heating would distribute carbon more evenly and the result, after cooling, was blister steel. Of course, this method is archaic and old. We no longer use it. Of course, we don\u2019t really use steel much either since we have Nedraetium and can purify it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe dwarves are never content. We always find a way to better things,\u201d Aldam says, puffing out his chest. \u201cWe found that the metal could be melted in clay crucibles and refined with a special flux to remove slag that the old process left behind. That\u2019s how we came up with cast steel. Of course, that method is pig shit compared to the new method of making steel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thormar leans in as he hangs onto every word that comes out of Aldam\u2019s mouth. \u201cWhat\u2019s the new method?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aldam just smiles. \u201cWell, one of my old ancestors discovered that iron could be heated while oxygen could be blown through the molten metal by a special furnace. As oxygen passed through the molten metal, it would react with the carbon, releasing carbon dioxide and producing a purer iron. The process was fast and inexpensive, removing carbon and some other substance from iron in a matter of minutes, but suffered from being too successful. Too much carbon was removed, and too much oxygen remained in the final product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s just Iron, then?\u201d Thorkel asks, tilting his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aldam nods. \u201cHowever, my great uncle began testing a compound of iron, carbon, and this thing called manganese. Manganese was known to remove oxygen from molten iron, and the carbon content in the compound, if added in the right quantities, would provide the solution to the problem my ancestor had.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, you were able to make the steel in minutes?\u201d Thormar asks, rubbing his chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aldam shrugs. \u201cThere was just one problem. My uncle couldn\u2019t remove an impurity that made the steel brittle from his end product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I scratch my head. \u201cSo, what did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy other great uncle, his brother, discovered that if you use a certain stone, we\u2019ve come to call limestone, it could draw out the impurity we\u2019ve come to call phosphorus from the pig iron into the slag. Making good quality steel. Of course, I shouldn\u2019t be telling you this. It\u2019s a dwarven secret we\u2019ve kept for a long time in order to keep the price of steel up. That\u2019s partially why our kingdom is so wealthy. That and the Nedraetium our builders use to fortify walls, since most people can\u2019t use it for tools or weapons because it\u2019s too heavy. Of course, not many people know that you can purify the Nedraetium and make it light as wood. That\u2019s a little-known secret our family has kept. Of course, the process of purifying the metal is rather difficult. I don\u2019t know why I\u2019m telling you toads this. I guess you three have been the closest things to sons I\u2019ve had, and I need someone to pass on my knowledge too. I\u2019m not getting any younger\u2026\u201d He tugs at his beard and looks off in the distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thormar scratches his head. \u201cHow do you know when it\u2019s been 168 hours? That seems like an awfully long time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have tools for measuring time. You could use a sundial, but those are as accurate as a horse’s arse due to the difference in daylight from the seasons. Hopefully you fish brains realized that there is more daylight in the summer than in the winter. Daylight slowly increases from winter to summer and decreases from summer to winter. And in winter, especially up here in the north, there can be days without sunlight making the sundial all but useless. Fortunately, both the High Elves and us dwarves have created what is called an hourglass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dwarf puts an oddly shaped device before us. It\u2019s as if someone took the upper halves of two elven wine bottles and stuck the openings together before building a frame of wood around it. There\u2019s sand in it, and it\u2019s all in the bottom bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou see, there\u2019s just enough sand in it so when you flip it, the sand will trickle down into the bottom half and what is called an hour will pass by the time all the sand sifts to the bottom half. There has been much debate about how many hours are in a full day. Some say thirty-four, others say thirty-eight. Most agree that thirty-six is correct. One of them high-elven wizards has used some kind of magic to keep count and make the thing flip automatically when all the sand reaches one end. He counted thirty-six times in one full day and night. Of course, it\u2019s hard to get a good count when the sun won\u2019t make up its mind on how long it wants to stay in the sky. But with magic, you can get the most accurate count.\u201d Aldam pauses a minute to scratch his beard as he considers something before, he continues. \u201cOf course, there\u2019s been much debate about why the length of daylight changes between seasons. Many dwarven philosophers believe that the sun stays still and that our world, which is believed to be a big giant ball, spins like a top and circles around the sun. They believe the reason for the change in daylight is because our world is tilted to some degree to the side, so it spins more like a top at an angle. So, during winter, we\u2019re at an angle where we wouldn\u2019t get as much sunlight compared to summer on the opposite side of the sun since they believe our world revolves around it. But Nothing has been proven just yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat sounds like pig shit to me,\u201d Thorkel says with his usual stubbornness. \u201cEveryone knows the world is flat, and the sun starts at the east and arcs over the land to the west and resets every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Thormar says as he scratches his chin. \u201cIt sorta makes sense. Haven\u2019t you noticed that the sky changes throughout the night? It’s as if the world is spinning and we get to see different stars. I\u2019ve also noticed that the stars are different in summer than they are in winter. That would certainly give credence to the dwarven philosophers\u2019 claims. If we revolved around the sun, then we\u2019d see different stars at different points in our revolution and even our rotation. Of course, what are stars, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAhh, for asking a lot of annoying questions, you are an observant one. Some of my kin believe the stars are far away suns and our world is one of many. Some High Elves believe this too,\u201d the dwarf says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought the dwarves and the elves didn’t like each other,\u201d Thormar says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t. But the High Elves are much more tolerable than those bloody bastard Wood Elves. Bunch of tree huggers, if you ask me. You try to cut down just one of their blasted trees and they\u2019ll stick you full of arrows. I guess they\u2019re the only ones allowed to cut down those trees, for how else do they get their arrows? Bunch of hypocrites, if you ask me. Can\u2019t stand them. At least the High Elves don\u2019t have sticks up their arses!\u201d The dwarf barks and makes himself laugh at his own joke. \u201cNow back to work, you lazy lot. We ain\u2019t got all day and there\u2019s plenty of tools to be made for the townsfolk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we\u2019re not spending our time with the dwarf, learning other crafts, and sharpening our fighting skills, we do get time to have fun. And Thorkel always knows how to have the most fun, even when it usually gets us into trouble. And of course, Thormar is always the one to tell on us to our mother. That is why we always leave him behind. He spoils everything, and he hates being left behind. Especially since our only other siblings are too young. Our sister, Svala, may only be a cycle younger than Thormar, but she\u2019s a girl and most girls are boring, and our younger brother Bodvar, only a cycle behind her, is young enough to be boring as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like always, Thorkel and I sneak out, evading Thormar\u2019s eyes. We meet up with the sisters, Asfrid and Arngunn Hrutdottir, whose parents raid with our father\u2019s crew, and our close friends Solmund Sividson, who\u2019s my age, and his older brother Griotgard, who\u2019s a little younger than Thorkel. And of course, Skardi, who doesn\u2019t have a father or a mother but stays with Varin, father of Sivid, who is father to Solmund and Griotgard along with their older sisters Hallgerd and Jofrid. Hallgerd married our cousin Veleif, and everyone thinks Jofrid will marry his younger brother, Gilli, since the two are always together. They also have a younger brother, Hosvir, and a younger sister Vigdis. Hosvir is Thormar\u2019s good friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We think Skardi is the same age as Solmund and me, but no one really knows. He can be strange, but there\u2019s no fun to be had without him. Sometimes our cousins Gilli and Tyrkir come, they are the younger brothers of Veleif, Svafar, and Saxi, who are all brothers to Frida, Greiland, Asfrid, Asgerd, and the youngest of their family, Yngvild. All sons and daughters of Koll Alriksson and his three wives, one being my mother\u2019s younger sister, Ingithora. The other two are Svanhild Arnthordottir, Ingithora\u2019s closest friend and lover, which is no secret, along with Arnora Saksisdottir, another close friend. The three of them grew up together, and all fell in love with Koll, my father\u2019s closest friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gilli and Tyrkir are around our age, as Veleif, Svafar, and Saxi are all much older than us. Well, not much, but they all have wives and kids. Their sons and daughters are as old as Thormar, Bodvar, and Svala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Part of me wants three wives, but then I see how my father and mother argue and clash and it makes me second guess that. I know my mother and father love each other, but there are times when it seems like they want to kill each other. Everyone in town knows of my father\u2019s bravery and courage, but I know the truth. If there is one thing he fears more than anything else, it\u2019s our mother. We all share that fear. The woman can be a force of nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, today our cousins aren\u2019t with us. Sometimes the oldest son of Koll\u2019s brother, Einar, joins us on our adventures. His name is Vog. His first sister Thorgunna sometimes joins us, but never his second sister Gudfrid, she\u2019s Svala\u2019s friend. Nor does his little brother Eystein. He rarely ever comes out of the house and prefers the company of books over people. He\u2019s odd. And then there\u2019s the runt, Trandil, who faints at the sight of blood. He\u2019ll never be a Viking. He lives with them, but he\u2019s the son of Koll, Einar, and Skuf\u2019s sister. I don\u2019t remember her name because she died many cycles ago. Koll, Einar, and Skuf had another brother, but I know little about him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, the seven of us love to sneak out of our town through a little side gate and explore the mountains just north of our town. The dark rocky mountains reach above the inky clouds that forever shroud the sky around the range of peaks far beyond sight. They say Chillshore, a once great Northerner city that was taken by the Southern Tyrants and turned into their fortress, lies somewhere within the mountains cloaked in clouds. It was rumored to be the first great Northerner city, or Norsemen city as we used to call ourselves when we came to these lands. It is written that we came from lands from a different realm. I don\u2019t know about that, but I know this is our home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, these mountains are dangerous, but it wouldn\u2019t be fun if it was safe. We\u2019re not really allowed up here without Aldam, but no one listens. Today, like every day, we find ourselves at the same cave entrance we were at yesterday. It\u2019s a secret hidden cave Thorkel found. The mouth of the cave sits beyond a little-known path hidden behind a small passageway that is nearly invisible to the eye. I do not know how Thorkel found it. Just like yesterday, we\u2019re still trying to convince someone to go inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere could be a bear in there, or worse. What if there was a giant in there? Didn\u2019t you hear about the giants who live in the clan in these mountains? They say they’re as tall as trees and they come from Jotunheim to the lands north of the Dead Sea,\u201d Arngunn says as she brushes her messy blonde hair out of her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll believe it when I see it,\u201d Griotgard says as he puffs out his chest. \u201cI bet they\u2019re lying. No way someone can be that tall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf there was a bear in there, it\u2019d probably smell us already and come out,\u201d Skardi says as he obsessively looks at a rock he found. His dark brown hair is always in a mess, sticking out like spikes. \u201cEveryone knows bears have great noses. They smell everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cScrew it. I\u2019m going in,\u201d Thorkel says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWait!\u201d Asfrid and I say at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He doesn\u2019t listen and walks in without hesitating. He disappears into the darkness. We all stand there, shifting uncomfortably, trading nervous glances as we wait for him to run back. Instead, we hear a gasp echo out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThorkel! Are you okay?\u201d I ask as I take a step forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou guys won\u2019t believe this. You have to see it for yourself. Come in here!\u201d His voice echoes out and we all look at each other. Finally, Skardi pockets the rock and heads inside. Reluctantly, everyone heads in one at a time until I\u2019m standing there by myself. I look around, take a deep breath, and head in after them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first, I\u2019m blinded by darkness and panic. I feel my way around, tripping over rocks and getting a face full of dirt. My knees scrape against the hard surface. I crawl and pick myself up off the ground and dust off the dirt. The wet, mossy scent fills my nose. Slowly, as my eyes adjust to the darkness, I follow the cave as the path veers to the right. A gasp escapes my lips as light appears in the distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I follow it until I\u2019m led into a large, long cavern filled with those glowing rocks and mushrooms Aldam mentioned. They light up the water, which has a misty loom to it. Skardi picks a mushroom and sniffs it. He sticks his tongue out and licks it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re seriously not going to eat that, are you?\u201d Asfrid asks, her face contorting into disgust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Skardi shrugs and bites into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEww gross! That could be poisonous. If you die, I\u2019m telling everyone it was your own fault.\u201d Asfrid crosses her arms against her chest and sticks her nose up away from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t taste half bad,\u201d Skardi says as he stuffs the whole mushroom into his mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAldam, the dwarf said it\u2019s not poisonous. It just turns your skin dark among other things,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hear a crash and turn to find Solmund laying on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Arngunn asks as she crouches down to look at Solmund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was trying to take one of these glowing rocks back to our town. They won\u2019t believe us otherwise,\u201d he says as he dusts himself off and tries again. \u201cBut\u2026 they\u2019re\u2026 too\u2026 heavy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He finally relents and gives up. \u201cI can\u2019t lift even this small one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAldam said they were too heavy. He said only experts mine those,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Thorkel?\u201d Asfrid asks. We all look around and Griotgard spots him all the way at the end of the cavern, staring at something. As we walk up to him, it becomes clear what he\u2019s looking at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat a strange thing to find in a cave,\u201d Skardi says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho do you think left it here?\u201d Asfrid asks. Everyone shrugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care. It\u2019s mine now,\u201d Thorkel says as he steps up to one of the biggest hammers I\u2019ve ever seen. It\u2019s no ordinary hammer. It\u2019s taller than Arngunn, which may not seem like much since she\u2019s the shortest one here, but it’s saying a lot for a hammer. Of course, I\u2019m not much taller than Arni. My father is tall, and I want to be taller than him and Thorkel. It\u2019s made out of a metal I\u2019ve never seen before. A dark crimson metal with a golden trim around it. The handle is all gold. For some reason, I keep imagining wielding a hammer like this. It\u2019s hard to push the thought out of my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith this hammer, I\u2019ll be the strongest warrior there is and no one will be able to defeat me. I\u2019ll be able to kill all of those Southerners.\u201d Thorkel steps up and wraps his hands around the long golden hilt. A loud grunt comes out of his mouth as he tries to lift the hammer. The thing doesn\u2019t even budge. He tries to change up his stance and his grip. He heaves and pulls, but the hammer doesn\u2019t move a finger\u2019s length. No matter how hard he tries, he can\u2019t move the hammer even a sliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Griotgard steps up. \u201cLet me try. I\u2019m stronger. I want to be the strongest warrior and kill as many Southerners as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thorkel steps aside and glares at Griotgard. However, Griotgard can\u2019t get it to move any more than Thorkel could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf neither of them can move it, then none of us can,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s some kind of writing on it,\u201d Skardi says as he walks up to get a better look at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d Asfrid asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow would I know? I can\u2019t read,\u201d Skardi says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMove aside, I can read,\u201d she says as she pushes past Skardi. She leans down to get a better look, but her face contorts in confusion. \u201cI have never seen runes like these before. If you can call them that. I have no idea what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaybe we should go,\u201d Arngunn says as she steps closer to me, looking around unsteadily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOooh, don\u2019t be a frightened little cat, Arni,\u201d Griotgard says as he tries to imitate her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t say that to her,\u201d I say as I step up to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd what are you going to do about it?\u201d Griotgard asks as steps up to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBe careful, Griotgard. I consider you a close friend, but Bothvar is my brother,\u201d Thorkel says nonchalantly as if he doesn\u2019t have a care in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s right, though. What if the person who put the hammer there comes back for it? Do you honestly think someone would just leave a hammer like that here in a place like this? And whoever left it there must be strong. Do you think any of us would be able to fight him?\u201d Skardi asks, then he snaps around and stares into the wall of the cavern. \u201cDid you hear that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone looks around quickly. Skardi walks up to the wall and pushes his ear up to it. Then he giggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMaybe you shouldn\u2019t have eaten those mushrooms,\u201d Asfrid says, shaking her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Skardi just laughs at her and starts picking more of those strange, glowing mushrooms. \u201cNo way. I feel fantastic right now. They make me\u2026 happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019m done here anyway. I\u2019m hungry. Let\u2019s go back and see if we can sneak into Thyri\u2019s and find anything to eat. I wouldn\u2019t mind some fresh baked bread, especially with that tazzle berry jam she makes,\u201d Thorkel says. That is one of many things Thorkel and I have in common, a love for anything with tazzle berries, especially pie. The fruit is rare; a delicacy only found in the land of the dwarves. Same with tingle fruit, which I\u2019ve been told only grows in the blue-eyed elven land. Or maybe it was the green eyes. I can\u2019t remember. If it weren\u2019t for their eyes, I wouldn\u2019t be able to tell one from the other. But either way, those two fruits are my favorite. While tazzle berries are nice and sweet and tingle fruit is rather tart, they both fizzle in your mouth. Tingle fruit makes for the best wine while tazzle berries make for an amazing pie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arngunn grabs my hand and I follow her out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We make our way down the mountain before we realize Skardi isn\u2019t with us. With groans, we turn back and find him picking at rocks and sniffing them. Thorkel grabs him and practically drags him back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDid you see that?\u201d Skardi asks as we finally get back to the town walls. \u201cIt was in the water. I swear I saw something out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all look out onto the water, but nothing is there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProbably those mushrooms,\u201d Asfrid says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you lot doing outside the walls?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We stop dead as we turn to find Gorm Thorgilsson, a tall skinny boy, with his younger brother Moldof and their friends, Hring, Geitirgest, Sigmund, Ulfjot, and Gunnstein, waiting at the side gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNothing you need to worry your little head about, Grom,\u201d Thorkel says, purposely butchering his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Gorm! You may be the Earl\u2019s son, but that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re better than me. Besides, your father\u2019s days as Earl might be numbered the way he led us to defeat under the dead king.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arngunn\u2019s hand grips mine as she steps up close to me. I step up between them and her, but I\u2019m more than afraid. They far outnumber us. And Gunnstein and Ulfjot are the biggest boys in the village. Thorkel forms a fist and steps up to Gorm. \u201cBetter watch your tongue and keep my father\u2019s name off it or I\u2019ll cut it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gorm\u2019s friends step up between him and Thorkel. He only grins. \u201cI\u2019d like to see you try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, aren\u2019t you a brave warrior, hiding behind your friends,\u201d Asfrid says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWatch your tongue, you stupid nissy twat!\u201d Gorm shouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t talk to her like that!\u201d Thorkel shouts as he charges them, slamming his fist against Hring, sending him to the ground. Gunnstein and Ulfjot tackle him. Solmund and Griotgard hurl themselves at them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Griotgard kicks Ulfjot right in the mouth, knocking teeth out. \u201cGet off my best friend!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Skardi stands there laughing hysterically. I just stand there frozen with Arngunn\u2019s hand in my trembling fingers as my brother and our friends’ fight. Even Asfrid runs in kicking and screaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s going on here?\u201d Everyone stops what they\u2019re doing as they look up to find our mother, Thorkatla, with our aunt, Sigvor, the wise one, along with several guards. My mom practically tugs at her long black hair. That\u2019s when you know she\u2019s really mad. Her eyes are as sharp as daggers. Her tall, thin frame towers over us. Our Aunt Sigvor is a lot like her in appearance, with the same beautiful, agile face, but with an auburn tinge to her hair. What they share in appearance is offset by how different their personalities are. Where my mother is hot-tempered, her sister is calm. I suppose their other sister, Ingithora, splits the difference, sharing their physical looks, but a personality just as hot as it is cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNothing. We were just having a little fun, that\u2019s all,\u201d my brother says as he pushes himself off Gunnstein, giving him a good kick as he gets up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ulfjot tries to push him, but one of the guards steps in. \u201cThat\u2019s enough!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reluctantly, everyone breaks apart. Our mother steps up. \u201cNow all of you go home before I tan your hide. All of you except you two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She points at Thorkel and me. We both look at each other as the others make their way into town. Both Asfrid and Arngunn look back at us before they head beyond the gate. Mother steps up and growls at us. \u201cWhat in the name of all the gods were you two doing outside the walls?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were just\u2026\u201d Thorkel goes to say, but mother doesn\u2019t give him a chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you not understand that the Southerners could attack us at any time?\u201d Her glare is colder than a winter freeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut mot\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut nothing. You\u2019ll be lucky I don\u2019t hang you up by your ankles. Maybe then you\u2019ll have enough blood in your head to think properly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thorkel goes pure white. Both of us know not to tempt our mother. Her wrath can be far harsher than father\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her icy glare turns on me. \u201cI expected this out of Thorkel, but with you I thought better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My eyes fall to the ground. Her disappointment hurts worse than any punishment. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou should be. Now both of you, come. You both will have enough work to do to keep you busy and out of trouble for the next few cycles of the seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We reluctantly follow our mother and aunt into town. As we get to our house, Thormar\u2019s waiting with Svala, Bothvar, and the slaves. He snickers at us. Thorkel brings his thumb to his throat, making a slicing motion. Thormar\u2019s face goes white as snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI saw that!\u201d Mother snaps and the color in Thorkel\u2019s drains, matching Thormar\u2019s. I can\u2019t help but feel ashamed of myself. Not only did we anger our mother, but I have proven that I am a coward. What kind of Viking doesn\u2019t fight to protect his father\u2019s honor and have his brother\u2019s back? Even Thormar would have fought. But I stayed back and watched. What is wrong with me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aratheon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Next-Chapter.png?resize=223%2C63&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"fantasy,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aratheon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Broken-Souls-by-Troy-Calkins.jpg?resize=642%2C1024&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n