Viking Story - Chapter 5 Beta (Patreon)

Magnus had made careful and slow steps toward a sapling he had spotted.  It grew closer to the edge of the barrier that seemed to be in place.  He hadn’t felt anything when he walked through the area between the stone pillars, and after quickly hacking the sapling down, he grabbed it and raced back to the side he felt was safe.

He made a lot of noise dragging it behind him, but he didn’t want to work on the forest side for the next part.

Using the axe, Magnus stripped the bark and chopped off all the small branches, forming a spear that was about eight feet tall. It wasn’t heavy and the sap felt sticky enough to help his grip as he gave a few simple thrusts.  

“I can’t say I’ve ever used a spear until now, but it makes sense why they gave common folk something like this,” he said as he finished preparing his new weapon.

Tying his shirt around himself, it took a few times to get the axe to stay in place on his back, not bounce around and slam into his shoulder or head. A few branches had also been cut and sharpened, wedged in his waist and one in each boot.

As he started to move across the boundary, a noise came from inside the woods.  Something was moving around, and Magnus froze, listening and waiting.  The sound of it came again, and it took him a moment to realize what it was.

It sounds like a boar!

The squeal it made as it rooted around off to his right reminded him of the sound he had heard countless times, shooting at those varmits. They would tear up property with ease and reproduce so fast that it was hard to keep them from spreading.

Taking a few deep breaths, Magnus began moving toward the forest and the sound of the creature inside.  

Part of him wanted to run and not risk this, but inside his chest was a string that seemed to be pulling him toward this moment.  It was as if Odin himself had created this place to test the warrior to whom he had gifted a legendary rune.  

Running seemed like an insult, and Magnus knew if he wanted to get stronger and save his friends, there were probably going to be moments like this, things that seemed pointless, and yet he could feel eyes from above watching to see what he did.

The boar's noise got louder, and Magnus was doing his best to make his way through the brush. He was grateful the wind was blowing along the edge of the forest rather than into it.  

The plants and shrubs that had grown up were not overly thick, probably kept down by things living inside the forest, choosing to eat the plants on the edge that provided an easier time finding.  

Like a drum, his heart beat inside his chest, steady, not racing, simply providing blood and oxygen to his muscles.  Magnus had faced down worse odds in his life. 

After going a few dozen yards into the dark forest, he spotted the creature that was rooting at the base of a tree, sending dirt up in a spray, trying to find whatever it was that its snout had discovered.  It was only about fifteen yards away from him, oblivious to its surroundings at the moment.

Wisdom told him that fleeing was still on the table. The boar was three feet tall and about five or more feet long—much larger than he had expected. Brown, course hair covered its body, and swollen teets hung off the bottom of the creature.

It’s a female… perhaps with a litter?

The thought of possibly finding some little ones gave Magnus the willpower to stay on this course.  

Female boars in his world could have tusks but were generally much shorter than a males.  They also only fought when they had to. 

Frozen behind the tree, the female boar pulled her snout out of the ground and sniffed the air a few times before diving forward again face-first into the dirt, sending up another wave of dirt.

The time to act had come, and Magnus knew there wasn’t going to be a better chance to land an attack.

He moved forward quickly, covering the short distance as fast as possible. His hands gripped tightly around the shaft of the spear, wondering how it would handle the blow he hoped to deliver.

No one ever trained him in the art of spearing, yet it seemed obvious.  Stick something with the sharp, pointy end.  Use the long stick to keep distance between yourself by jabbing with the tip

Two yards away from his tip finding the side of the boar, its brown head rose from the dirt it was covering itself in.

It tried to react, a squeal coming from it as it turned toward Magnus.

Without hesitating, he drove forward, aiming the spear into the sow’s throat.  His original plan had been to aim for where he knew the heart would be.  The head was too thick and the protective plates in its shoulder would stop his wooden tip without a problem.

Almost like a thread was attached to the tip of his wooden spear, it moved right under the upward-turned snout and punctured the thick hide, sliding down its throat and into the esophagus.

The creature twisted, snapping off the spear and almost yanking it from Magnus’s hands at the same moment.

It tried to squeal; instead, a gurgling sound came as blood rushed into its lungs.  The tip was lodged inside, blocking the passage to its stomach and causing all of the blood to quickly go down the exposed hole leading to its lungs.

It grunted, pinwheeled, and came toward Magnus, who dove back, using the splintered spear to keep a little bit of room between him and the boar that didn’t have the speed or power right now to really attack him.

Turning to run only exposed its side to a man trapped inside a teenage body.  He moved with speed and precision, driving the mangled end of the spear into the creature's rump, causing it to stumble a moment before trying to turn again, angry as it failed to breathe.

Blood was everywhere, covering the leaves and dirt, creating a copper smell mixed with fresh-turned earth.  

It took five steps, staggering as it went before the sow fell to the side. Its lungs tried to expand, but only a gurgling sound came from them.

Magnus’s hands trembled as he continued to breathe slowly.  He knew how to hold the adrenaline trying to rush through his body at bay.  There wasn’t any time to wait and seeing that the boar was barely able to move, he pulled the axe from his back, wondering what Valgard might do if he had ruined it.

With the axe in hand, he moved quickly to the beast, ignoring the kicks its legs sent, spasming as life drained out of it.

Swinging the axe, he hacked at the dying creature, not concerned about how sharp the edge of his weapon was. Instead, using his strength and the thread he could almost see, he cleaved into the spot where the neck was exposed.

It took about eight full swings to finally sever the head off completely.

Warmth flooded Magnus, and he felt lightheaded for a moment.

Sensation within every part of his body began to burn, and his chest felt tight.

[ Your actions have earned Odin's favor. ]

[ A wager about your bravery was won. Bonus experience granted. ]

[ A boon has been gifted for 2 hours. Strength of Thor - 2x Base Strength ]

[ Rune Leveled up ]

[ Rune: Gungnir’s Strength - Level 1 ]

[ Level 1 Bonus: 10% Bonus to Strength and Endurance ]

“What the hell?” Magnus gasped as he stared at the beheaded creature.

They bet on me? That I would do this?!

Breathing slowly, Magnus examined the beast. 

Whatever the gods had done or bet, following the feeling in his heart had been the obvious right choice.  

I’m not certain who is watching or how this works, but I might as well play the role.  Who knows what this might lead to. If the gods are as fickle as the stories say, I guess I will have to offer sacrifices to them as well.

“Odin and Thor, I assume.  Thank you for your blessing and this gift.  I’ll do my best to serve you well.”

Wiping the blade off on the dirt, Magnus tried to ignore the fact he was splattered in it.

Sounds came from deeper within the forest, and he knew it was time to get out of there.  Sliding the axe quickly into the hole of his shirt, he then bent down and grabbed the legs of the sow.  

Tugging with everything he had, Magnus tripped and fell as the creature moved with a lot more ease than he had expected.

“The boon!” he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and grabbed the legs, pulling again and watching as it slid along the ground at a decent speed.

It was harder moving through the dirt that was torn up, but the howling and yips of multiple creatures in the forest, having caught the scent of blood, spurred him on.

Like so many times in his life, he had pushed and pulled heavy loads, knowing it would take training to build his body up.  Technique acquired a lifetime ago showed him how to hold the two back legs with the corpse on its back, arms extended behind while he leaned forward and pumped his legs.

His lungs burned as he saw the opening to the forest.  The sound of whatever was coming was getting closer, but Magnus didn’t focus on that.  His eyes were set on a point he knew was on the other side of whatever barrier must separate this section of land.

The ground that had been covered in roots, risking a chance of turning an ankle, vanished as the barren area took over, and Magnus breathed steady breaths over and over. Whatever was chasing the scent of blood was much closer as growls and barking came from different areas, possibly laying claim or offering a pact to tear this scrawny teen's body to shreds.

Driving his legs, all Magnus focused on was the need to get stronger so he could save Martinez and Dawson.  That meant food, and he was holding enough food to help that journey for quite some time.  

Bringing this to the farm would cause some problems, but there was no other choice. They couldn’t afford meat. He had seen that. There were no animals, which meant someone had to trade for milk or cheese. Any meat they got had to be purchased, and if what he assumed was right, the man in charge was keeping them poor for a reason.

Loud shrieks and squeals of pain echoed in the trees behind him as whatever had been drawn arrived to find another claiming the head and the blood trail for its own.  

Twenty yards!

His legs were burning. Even with the massive boost to strength, his lack of endurance was going to be his downfall. The taste of copper, metal, and blood was in his mouth, and his lungs were having problems converting the air he needed as he pressed on.

Fifteen… ten…

Sounds came from behind him, and a quick glance over his shoulder as Magnus kept running revealed three massive black wolves. Yellow eyes stared at him and the corpse he was dragging, blood trailing behind him, leaving a path for anyone with a nose to follow.

They charged after him, eating up the distance without problem, four legs making short work of the ground between.

Five…

Magnus could hear their paws and trusted in something magical to protect him. He was not even sure if the barrier he believed was there would do anything. Thora had mentioned it casually, that it prevented creatures from the forest from coming into their lands.

His ears pounded, and the threat of death behind him made his legs move even faster.

If I drop this, will they leave me alone?

The spot he hoped for was so close, yet so was the sound of paws running across the dirt.

He had a choice to make, and there was no more time to think about it.