Viking - Chapter 15 (Technically 2 chapters) - Beta (Patreon)

“I’m not certain I can keep this up,” Osvif managed to get out between breaths.

Nodding, Magnus took a few more deep breaths and ignored the sweat running down his entire body.  

Both of them had been training for the last month each night and the exhaustion had finally started to let up.  Training six days a week with just one day off had been brutal but with a lifetime of working out and knowing how to train, Magnus had developed a program to get their bodies primed for what was coming.

Cardio and testing had been done the first week, each of them working to see just how far they could go.  Lifting and dragging wood logs and other objects had shown him just how week the body Odin had given him really was.  

The perk of all this had been the joys of youth.  Forgetting that a teen body recovered so quickly and with the right amount of food he could already see the beginning of muscle forming on himself and Osvif.

Valgard had not been excited about his decision to include his friend, but something inside told Magnus that the runt as everyone called the redheaded teen needed to be just as strong.

“We’ve got three more rounds.  Trust me we can do it.  You said it yourself when you promised to not quit.  Both of us can see how much stronger we have gotten.”

Sighing, Osvif nodded and stood by the log they were lifting together.

“Fine… just call out the timing.  Maybe a little slower this time.”

Seeing the slight grin on his friends face, Magnus nodded and pointed at the log they were standing on opposite sides of.

“Let’s go!”

Together they bent down, grabbing the three-hundred-pound log and lifted it onto their shoulders.

“Squats, five of them.”

Each of them grunted as they bent down, trying to ignore the slight height difference that made it even more difficult.  Once all five squats were done each of them took a few breaths, knowing the next part would suck.

“Drive and thrust.  We’ll swap sides. Go!”

As one they bent slightly driving the log off their shoulder and upward, pressing with their hands before lowering it together to the other shoulder.

Magnus could see Valgard watching the two of them, smirking as they sweated, blood coming from their shoulders where the log scratched their skin that was getting tougher.  

Time, food and consistency.  Now I just need to accomplish something even worse…

“Why should I join you?” Guat asked, his eyes never coming off Magnus’s upper body.

Three months had changed everything.  He had put on probably ten pounds of solid muscle and the growth was almost impossible for himself to believe.  The amount of food that Arngrim was purchasing each week sometimes made the older man complain during their lessons, but the evidence of how he and Osvif looked now had taken the town by storm.  

Every time they came for the monthly bath day, more and more people commented on how they had changed.  Brennor and Hrein both were struggling to believe the changes.

Training with the two men twice a week had taught Magnus a world of skills that seemed impossible at first, yet each lesson got easier.  His mind could recall the techniques and tricks.  His body moved faster and the added muscle created a powerful strike each time.  Knowing how to use his hips had surprised both warriors and even they had picked up a few small tricks that he showed them, causing them to be excited at not just training him, but improving on their own skills.

Standing outside the walls, away from most of the prying eyes and crowd, Magnus sighed, shaking his head at Osvif who had bristled at the Lendmann’s son’s response.

“How many times have I told you I’m not angry or upset with you? There isn’t an ounce of evil will or intention inside me toward you.  All I want to do is become the best warrior I can be, while helping those who desire to be one as well.  How many times have you told others you want to be a thegn like your father?”

Grunting, Guat crossed his arms, a frown on his face but the way he had been glowering at Magnus lessened slightly.

“There is no other dream greater than that.  It is my duty to follow in my fathers steps.”

Magnus nodded and tapped his chest.

“Look at me and Osvif and tell me the truth. You can see how much we have changed.  Imagine if you join us and train with us.  You could be growing like this and in three years when it is time to fight in Kopanes during the tournament, wouldn’t that help you place higher?  Surely you know the advantages of being as strong and fast as possible.  Plus with the training both Brennor and Hrein give you at home, as well as a few extra days at our place, that would help you even more.”

“And what will all this training cost me?”

Magnus saw the change in Guat’s face as his jaw muscles unclenched slightly.  The tanned face of the larger boy no longer looked like he was trying to break his own teeth.

“All you have to do is follow the program I set for the three of us. You can ask questions but you don’t get to quit.  Ask Osvif if you want, he’ll tell you the first few weeks were the worst but now he barely complains.”

His friend started to laugh and shook his head while groaning.

“That’s a lie. Every day sucks but I don’t complain anymore because I see the results.  Each day I wonder what kind of torture Einar’s going to inflict upon my body but it’s just enough to make me want to quit, yet never so much I actually do. Besides, if you can stop acting like we’re trying to steal your honor, you might find out that neither of us are jerks.”

“But his father!” exclaimed Guat as he pointed a finger at Magnus.  “Do you know what he cost my dad?!”

“I don’t even know,” Magnus replied.  He was frowning slightly and the truth of that was still a difficult topic in his house.  

Thora had only shared that his father had been a great warrior and that something had gone wrong in a fight where Reinn was present. Some fallout took place and no one ever found Gunnar again.  The man had vanished and no revival ritual ever brought him back.

Grunting again, Guat snorted and shook his head.

“I’m not certain my mother—”

“Is your mother going to fight for you in the tournament?” Magnus asked, cutting off the excuse the Lendmann’s son always used. “One day you’ll have to be yourself.  Surely you’re the kind of Viking to stand up and declare you’re ready to decide the future Odin wants from you.”

A scowl formed and then vanished almost as fast on the young boys face.  His mother was always a hard topic of discussion and many had commented inside the village about her temperament and attitude.

“Let’s say I agree to this.  When would I start?”

“Tomorrow. Talk to your father, tell him we invited you to train with us.  Promise me you won’t quit for three months and that you will give everything I ask.  If afterwards you don’t feel it’s worth doing, you can quit.”

Sighing, Guat nodded his eyes moving back and forth between the two boys before him.

Magnus could see how their improvements was hard to deny that something was working.  

“Also I’ll give you a list of things to prepare and plan on eating.  Just know it’s going to be a lot and you’ll need to make sure to eat everything.”

“Just how much are we talking about?”

Osvif chuckled and tapped his flat stomach.

“Sometimes I get tired of chewing… almost more tired than I do the amount of shit that comes out of me.”

Magnus laughed and saw Guat’s expression finally soften enough.  He held out his hand and waited.

A few seconds passed and the Lendmann’s son slowly reached over and clasped it, gripping it tight as they shook.

“Alright. I’ll see you at my place tomorrow after lunch time.  Bring a spare pair of clothes to train in.  Something you don’t mind sweating and wearing everyday.”

“He’s cheating!” Avitue shouted as she blocked the shield slam from Magnus only to take a wooden axe strike to her leg. 

“Einar isn’t cheating!” Hrein yelled back. “You’re slacking off! Use the shield skills I taught you and the speed! Stop trying to match his strength!”

The scowl on the redheaded girl across from him made Magnus smile even bigger.  That in turn led to her scowling even more and charging at him again.

A tiny roar of frustration and anger came out of her cute mouth as she swung her wooden axe and tried to use her shield in a combo attack.

Without hesitation, Magnus danced sideways, using his shield to deflect her attack and spun, slapping her ass with the flat of his axe.

“Hey! That’s my daughter’s ass you’re hitting! Keep it up and I’ll have to defend her honor!”

Chuckling, Magnus prepared for the combo of attacks that Avitue unleashed on him.  Her movements were good, but she was too obvious and repeated herself.  Even though he had told her that multiple times, the woman kept forgetting and falling back into the drills her father had instructed her in for the last few years.

An opening was going to come up again as always and when it did, his axe blade found her neck, causing Hrein to end the practice match.

“How?! How can you beat me so easily now?”

Osvif and Guat were both grinning, having stopped their match and watched Magnus defeat the one neither of them could.

“You repeated yourself, again,” Magnus replied. “Ask your father if you don’t believe me but you do the same six attacks and that last strike always leaves your right side open.”

“It’s true,” Hrein called out as he moved toward his daughter that looked ready to explode.  “You get upset and forget the other things you can do.”

Growling she tossed her weapon and shield to the ground, stomping off toward the bucket of water nearby.

“Sorry,” Magnus said quietly. “I really wasn’t trying to make her look that bad.”

“She’s hard headed like her mother.  Worse yet she has my temper,” the massive red headed warrior replied.  “It’s better you kick her ass now so she’s prepared for the tournament coming up.  If she doesn’t get that stick out of her butt she’s going to find herself doing poorly.”

Nodding, Magnus watched as those green eyes glared at him even as she took a drink from the bucket.  She held the wooden cup she had filled and he studied her pose.

“Can I ask a question?”

“When has that ever stopped you?” 

Both of them turned, hearing the sounds of axes and shields coming from Guat and Osvif who had begun dueling again.

“Do you trust me to work with her for the next few months? I can give her some extra help with different areas to improve on and work on some flexibility that will improve her reach, speed and overall strength.”

Hrein seemed to almost bristle at that question and Magnus waited to hear the possible string of curses that sometimes came from the man.  Eventually he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“You’re not asking this because you want to do something that would require me to kill you once you hit sixteen?”

Laughing, Magnus shook his head.

“How much have you grown since we started training and you finally began doing some of the exercises I gave you to do?”

A growl similar to his daughters came from the big man but he nodded.

“Enough to know you’re somehow blessed by the wisdom of Odin and Loki.”

Saying nothing and just waiting there, Magnus watched those green eyes study him before moving to where his daughter was, still pouting as she poured water over her.

“Fine. Twice a week but if I hear you’ve done anything at all that deserves a beating, know I’ll personally administer it every day until I can end your life.”

Sighing, Magnus nodded.

“Fine.  You tell her though.  I’m not sure she wants to hear it from me.”

A look of pain flashed across the large warriors face as he winced.

“Gods that’s even worse! You know she won’t want to hear that from me either!”

Shrugging, Magnus turned and watched Guat disarm Osvif, ending their duel as both of them laughed and talked about what had gone wrong.

“True, but I need her to listen to me from the start.  I’ll find a way to make her see the value of what we’re going to do.”

Nodding, Hrein moved to where his daughter stood, almost moving like one sent to certain death.

“This isn’t what I had in mind,” Avitue grumbled as she went through the stretches Magnus was demonstrating.  “How is all this going to help me be a better shieldmaiden?”

Without saying a word, Magnus moved into the perfect split position on the packed ground. Motioning for her to try and mimic what he had done, Magnus fought back the laughter he felt rising as she couldn’t achieve about six inches to be flat like he was.

“You’re strong but you are so tight it makes controlling and moving that strength harder.  I wrote down a list of things you need to do everyday at night before bed.  It should take you twenty minutes or so to go through the list but if you do them, in about a month you should be able to mimic what I’m doing now.”

“You do this every night?” 

He nodded, smiling as her green eyes stood out when her eyebrows rose.

“It’s not just doing the lifting and running but also making sure you can move your body. Forgive me for saying this but everyone comments on how tone and strong you are but you move like your father.”

She grunted and glared at him for a moment.

“And…”

“And that’s not a good thing for you.  He’s taller and stronger and honestly in need of losing about twenty pounds.”

Laughing, Avitue’s expression changed immediately as she nodded.

“My mother would pay to have you tell him that.”

“I already have and I got a black eye that day during our training match but he’s lost a little bit since then.  You need to be quick and realize your strength won’t ever match his or a true thegn.”

Holding up his hand as she started to protest, Magnus shook his head.

“I’m not saying you’re weak, just that men and women are different and we both know it.  No woman ever looks as big as the largest male warrior.  Even if you were as tall as your father and just as massive, do you really believe you could match his strength?”

Slowly she shook her head, frowning slightly.

“No… and he is much more skilled with weapons than I am.”

“He has had a lifetime to train,” Magnus replied. “You have only had half a lifetime.  What I’m going to teach you is the same thing Guat and Osvif are working on. Neither of them can do what I’m doing right now and I’m not certain Osvif ever will.  He’s like a stack of sticks tied together.”

Avitue laughed and then fell backward onto her butt, rubbing the tight sections of her inner thighs.

“My father wanted me to make sure to report to him if you attempted anything unbecoming of you.”

Groaning, Magnus shook his head and winked.

“I’m pretty certain you’re going to hold that over me.  Now just remember if you ask me to do something and I say no, don’t complain to your father about it.”

She winked and moved to the butterfly stretch Magnus shifted to from the splits he had still been holding.

“I can’t promise anything but if you’re training helps me like I’ve seen it help the other two, perhaps I can reward you in some way.”

I’m so going to die an early death…

“What is the name of this program you’re making everyone do?” Reinn asked between breaths.

“Brennor and Hrein both shared with me the things you all did upon getting to join a warband but the truth is there is no specific training focus.  You all just occasionally lift some wood or metal objects, throw them and run when the mood was right.  The rest of the time was spent fighting but if we’re honest, I doubt even then the techniques and training was as focused as it should be.”

Grunting, Reinn nodded as he picked up the metal weight the blacksmith had made and began lifting it under the watchful eye of Magnus.

A little over a year had passed since the killing of the troll and now the entire village was taking part in some ways of making sure each warrior and young child was doing some form of Magnus’s program.

After he completed the number of required repetitions, the Lendmann dropped the metal weight on the ground and stood back, panting from the exhertion.

“That seems… much harder… than it should be.”

Magnus shook his head.  

“Look at your son and ask yourself who trained him better.  What you had him doing or what I am doing with him?

Glancing across the field a group of fifteen young children were all busy lifting or pulling different object, Rienn could only nod.

“If I didn’t see the results I would never agree to continue to support his eating habbits.  I’m not certain where it all goes.”

Bending down, Magnus picked up the pack he had sitting near him and pulled out three pieces of paper.

“These are the objects I need created from the blacksmith over the next few months.  We’ve got less than two years to finish getting ready for the tournament and my goal is to have everyone ready for it.  I expect once the Jarl and the other Lendmann see what you’ve done with the three of us, they will gladly pay to find out how to repeat our success.”

Grinning, Rienn nodded and took a few more deep breaths before letting out a groan.

“Two more sets?”

Magnus nodded and motioned toward the others.

“I need to get back to working out myself.  If I stand around here too long everyone will think I’m lazy and then what would happen.”

Laughing, the Lendmann shook his head.

“No one believes for a moment you’re lazy Einar.  Hrein would offer his daughters hand almost after how well she did at the tournament.  Top ten isn’t something most can hope for and yet she almost made it to the top five.  He says most of her success is due to her.”

Shaking his head, Magnus began to walk away.

“No thank you.  I don’t have time for a wife right now.  Besides, having him for a father-in-law… someone would have to be crazy to want that.”

Reinn let out a massive roar of laughter only to groan when Magnus pointed at the metal object waiting to be lifted up.

“You’re cruel!” he exclaimed before he stuffed the paperwork into a bag near him and moved back to the object of his pain.

“Again!”

Osvif came at Magnus, his shield and axe held as they had been trained.  Valgard and Hrein stood from the sides, watching as the two boys faced each other.  Neither had any doubt about how the fight was going to go but with only two months until the gathering at Jarl Bior’s city, Kopanes, both boys needed every last bit of training.  

Two years had passed and the boys before them looked nothing like the sticks that had once stood with the men when facing that troll.

Each of them bristled with more muscles than all the villagers and warriors could believe.  

Since the first few weeks after that fight with Guat at the gathering, Magnus work in the fields, and the training he did with multiple men and both boys had changed everything.  Reinn and Arngrim had paid the local blacksmith to make a variety of items from wood and metal. Everyone in the village had started training with them and now it was as if Odin himself had come down, infusing them all with size.

Many had teased and poked fun of the money and time spent on the objects he lifted, carried, and pulled, along with all the running, yet none could argue with the results.

A detailed plan for everyone had been given by Magnus and at first Reinn had considered it impossible.  Yet from the age of nine to thirteen, Magnus laid out a program built around exercises for the kids with just their bodies.  From thirteen to sixteen was another program of lifting, pushing, and pulling the different objects.  After that was another regiment that got progressively worse from sixteen till about thirty.  

Magnus had done as he promised Rein. In one year the village of Kroppr had began to earn a reputation of creating development young men and women after how successful Avitue had been in the tournament.

A wooden axe slammed into the shield Magnus was holding and a foot came at his feet.  

Osvif has learned quickly not just the fighting style the warriors in town taught but also the hand-to-hand combat that Magnus shared.  Many wanted to learn the technique he had used against Guat that threw the boy so easily over his shoulder.

Dodging the low attack, another swing came and Magnus blocked it while kicking outward with his own leg.  Osvif used his shield to absorb the kick aimed at his gut and still took a few steps back from the force of it.

All around them the sounds of others training were taking place.  

The monthly gathering was no longer just games and celebration.  There was a lot at stake at the next symposia.  Those who performed well enough could earn a rune from the Jarl.  Every craftsman ensured their child or student perfected the techniques so their creation would earn them a reward.  

For those like Magnus, Guat and Osvif, the potential to do well in the combat games meant the difference between a common rune or the victor taking home an advanced one.  

Dirt flew up at Magnus’s face, and he danced backward, unable to avoid a grin, seeing that Osvif had practiced Brennor’s fighting style more and more.

Two more attacks came, each one easy to read, his friend still not remembering to avoid using the same pattern of attacks.

Magnus dashed forward and hooked his friend’s leg with his axe and gave a quick tug, sending Osvif to the ground.

“Break!” Hrein shouted.

“You need to stop repeating yourself,” Magnus said as he tossed down his wooden axe and held out his hand to his friend.  “Someone will notice you do the same things and easily counter you.”

Groaning, Osvif nodded and took the hand, letting himself be helped up.

“It’s really not fair.  No one here has an easy fight against you.  Hrein stopped after that last time you kicked his ass.”

A cough came from the red-headed man, and he shot Osvif a glare.

“He didn’t win… I let him.”

Everyone laughed, including Hrein after a moment.

“Just don’t forget.  The axes won’t be wooden when the tournament takes place,” Valgard said as he motioned to one of the younger boys watching.  The child grinned as they picked up the water bucket and brought it over to Magnus and Osvif. “Healers will be there and death is rare but can happen.  Once the rune spots open, you are fair game and some may not hesitate to kill you if that is what it takes for victory.”

Giving the brown hair boy a tussle on his head, Magnus nodded and drank the ladle of water before giving it back.

“I know… Two more weeks and I’ll be sixteen.  Osvif is already sixteen so can I use a real axe against him?”

“Odin, please don’t!” Osvif exclaimed, holding up his hands.  “I’m already on the short end of things and getting killed before this event isn’t worth it.”

A whistle caught their attention, and everyone turned to see Reinn coming toward them with Guat in tow.  The boy was just as tall as his father now, standing about six foot and a half.  He had filled out even more after adopting the program Magnus had given him.

“Einar,” Guat said with a nod as they drew near.

Smiling, Magnus held out a fist and chuckled when Guat fist bumped his.  

The look on their faces when I taught that never gets old.

The Lendmann shooed away the young boy and waited till he was gone, motioning for the others to gather around.

“Three potential warriors,” Reinn said with a grin. “May Odin and Thor shine favor on us all.  Now then, I need you three to listen very carefully to what I’m going to say, and I don’t want anyone to speak about it. Tomorrow, we will ride for the barrier.  If the runes I hope for you three to have equipped with before we reach the symposia, we need to find some materials.  That means venturing into there and hunting down some reagents.”

Reinn motioned to Guat who dropped a pack he had tied on his back.  When they opened it, the smell left much to be desired but the Lendmann never flinched, reaching into the bag and pulling out a few bones and tusks.  

“I have some of the troll items we need, but the hard part will be getting the wolves.  They will run at the sight of us all.”

Magnus motioned with his hand and Reinn cocked an eyebrow and looked at him.

“Guat, Osvif and I can take care of the wolves.  I’ll just need an animal, a cart, shovels, and a few other small things.”

Hrein snorted and shook his head. 

“You’re seriously offering to go and hunt down the black wolves on your own? Surely you have heard the stories.”

He shrugged and the other two teens both grinned.  If either of them had learned anything in the last few years it was that Einar had an uncanny knack of succeeding no matter what he was tasked with.

“Father if he says it will work, it will be fine.”

Valgard laughed as he gave Reinn a pat on the back, watching the Lendmann rub his eyes a few times.

“Fine… you three can attempt that first.  After that we’ll have to go a little deeper and look for some ore.  How long do you need Einar before you three can set out?”

“Tomorrow is fine.  I’ll go over the plans with Guat and Osvif tonight.”

Rubbing his teeth with his tongue, Reinn nodded and then motioned toward the Longhouse.

“I need to go deal with being in charge.  All the fun of fighting seems to keep getting taken from me.  Perhaps Bior really got back at me for sleeping with his first wife by making me a Lendmann.

Valgard and Hrein laughed as the three boys picked up the equipment on the ground.

“If we’re fighting tomorrow, we’ll rest tonight.  It’s going to be a long day.”

A collective groan came from Osvif and Guat, both knowing that any long day for Magnus meant an even worse day for the others.

The holes had been dug while someone kept watch at the barrier.  Each boy was covered with a sheen of sweat as they dug up the dirt and loaded it in the cart, transporting it to the other side of the barrier.

Magnus had shared his plan and each boy considered it crazy, but both saw the merit of it.

“Where do you come up with this stuff Einar?” Guat asked as he threw dirt out of the hole that was taller than him.  “No one in our village does stuff like this.”

“Ever since you hit me in the head all I can do is come up with crazy things,” Magnus replied, making Guat groan while Osvif laughed.

“I’m never going to live that down,” he muttered.

“At least you took that fish out of your arse,” Osvif teased from the other hole.

The three of them all laughed, enduring an afternoon of digging holes, something Magnus was well acquainted with.

The wooden spikes were buried and packed into the ground, each boy mindful not to slip in lest they find out firsthand how bad the trap Magnus had created felt.  Slowly they laid the thin sticks across the five-foot-wide opening.  They spread the foliage and started covering a thin layer of dirt on top to hide what was under neath.  Each hole was six feet deep and ten feet long.  It was angled toward the barrier with a single narrow entrance between the two.

“You’re sure you want to be the one doing this?” Guat asked as Magnus took the goat, they had gotten from Reinn.  “If you die–”

“Which is why I won’t,” he cut off his hard forged friend.

It had taken months to wear down Guat and the constant need the boy felt to prove himself.  As Magnus had started to fill out and continued to earn the respect of everyone else, eventually, the Lendmann’s son noticed that never once did he face another challenge or threat from the boy he had bullied for years.  

Nodding, Guat handed the knife to Magnus and ran to where Guat was hiding behind the pile of dirt on the other side of the barrier. Both boys had their axes and shields along with a few wooden spears they had crafted with the spikes.

The goat bleated in protest as it was led closer to the woods and Magnus smiled as the wind blew slightly to the southeast.  

“Sorry little one.”

With a quick thrust he ended the goat’s life, sparing it all the pain he could.  Once it was dead Magnus started to cut the animal open, spreading blood and organs all over.

All that was left to do was wait and that didn’t take long.

Howls came from the woods, deeper in and Magnus wondered again how sensitive the wolves’ noses must be to get a scent so quickly.  Even in the later afternoon sun those creatures were out, prowling the darkness of the forest.

Other sounds came from deep within, further out and the game he had played years ago ran through his mind.

Everything in him yearned for combat.  Fighting that urge sometimes took more willpower than he remembered ever needing.  Martinez had always been the one who seemed ready for battle.  That memory reminded Magnus why he was taking these risks and doing these things.  He had to get stronger if he was ever going to save them.

Noises grew closer and a yip came, causing the hair on his arm to rise a little bit.  Magnus steadied his breathing and prepared for what he knew was going to happen in a moment.  

In the darkness of the forest four shapes emerged from the shadows.  The black outlines appeared first, each of them with two hovering yellow eyes that stared at him and the meat he held in his hand.  

Their black noses twitched as the blood that dripped from the corpse splattered against the dirt.

A louder noise came and a larger form began to emerge from under the trees.  Those yellow eyes were a foot taller than the others.

As the pack of five black wolves padded slowly and cautiously from the shelter of the trees, looking across the expanse of the fifty plus yards between them, Magnus felt a smile forming as he saw a wolf in the middle, a foot taller and almost a foot wider moving to the front.

God damn you Odin!