Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 43 - Bringing Along a Friend (Patreon)

Gorm finished reading the reports he had made each of them fill out, along with the letter Lambi had written.  Setting the papers down on the desk before him, he leaned against the straight-back wooden chair, frowning at the three who stood before him.

The room they were in was designed for a clerk at the outpost near the barrier, yet right now, he needed a place out of prying ears.

“Einar, you’re the newest one out there.  These other two have seen that area before for years.  Tell me, do you really feel that blood protected you from the troll’s senses?”

A grin cracked on both of the older Viking’s faces, each having bet that Gorm wouldn’t mention it by name at the beginning.

“I do believe the shadow walker's blood helped disguise us.  There are lots of predators out there that use magic or some other means to keep hidden.  Based on how it smelled and the reaction it caused to our own senses, it seems likely that it puts off some kind of scent that messes with the other creatures.”

“But to hide you completely? You realize when I send this report back to Jarl Bior that some of the others are going to question if you are sane?” the older man asked as he leaned back, lacing his fingers behind his head.  “If you hadn’t had those two shieldmaidens with you to confirm such a thing, everyone would have believed it a stunt simply to gain honor.”

“Yet there is a corpse waiting for you back at the fort, and you know me. I would not lie.”
Shaking his head and sighing, the dark-haired man let his brown eyes watch how Skarf and Thorodd reacted.  

“Thoughts?”

Clearing his throat, Thorodd stepped forward and grinned.

“You and I both know that place is a death trap.  Outside those walls for any length of time can invite a trip to Helheim until one is returned to this land.  Based on what I saw and the items he retrieved, there is no doubt Einar is on to something.  You smelled that jar he brought.”

Nodding, Gorm leaned forward, putting his massive hands and forearms on the desk, resting against it.

His nose twitched from just thinking about the smell that had hit his senses when the lid came off. 

“That’s the last jar, right?”

“It is,” Einar replied.  “The body has a weird texture to it, and I’m not sure how to describe it in a way that makes sense.  Once you see it, you’ll understand.”

“Other than it makes you shit yourself,” Skarf said with a chuckle. “Seriously, the man deserves the thegn title just for killing one and saving us two from the other.”

No one said a word, each of them aware that part of the mission for him to acquire that title had been to safely escort the ore back.  Two wagon loads were good, but one was still abandoned on the road.  The party they sent out should hopefully be back with it soon, yet for whatever reason, if trolls found it before the warriors, they would carry it away.  Another question none seemed to have an answer for.

“He’ll get the title,” Gorm said, ignoring the fact Einar was right before him. “For now, I have other problems to deal with, and what Lambi has sent is going to cause problems, so I need an answer.  I’m half tempted to solve that problem by sending you three back out there, but after reading your reports, I don’t need any children at the fort anytime soon.”

A slight grin appeared on their leader's face, and Einar heard the other two men chuckling, not certain which one or if both men had commented on that in their report.

“Regardless, you three need to rest and prepare to return to Kopanes.  Jarl Bior is expecting you, and he’ll be very interested in getting that jar in the hands of some of the crafters and sages and seeing what they can find. I won’t spoil your fun, but just know you won’t be in the city very long.”

Groaning, Thorodd moved back to stand next to Einar and sighed.

“Anything else?”

Rising from his chair, Gorm moved around the desk and held out his arm to Einar.

“I won’t make this official, but since I won’t be joining you to Kopanes, let me congratulate you on achieving what most Vikings take a few more years to achieve.  May Odin always guide your axe, Thegn Einar.”

They clasped arms, and their leader thumped him on the arm before nodding to the other two.

“Now go. I need to do what every Viking loves… writing damn letters to send to other Vikings who enjoy reading them almost as much as writing them.”

The three laughed and grinned as they made their way to the wooden door.

***

The warriors, who were still in Jarl Bior’s training area, all stood as the leader of the city handed an ornate, silver armband to Einar.  Each warrior present sported at least one of the bands on their arm, signifying who they belonged to and the rank at which they held.  Half of the men there wore the gold armband, which signified they had reached the rank of housecarl.  

“May Odin guide your axe, Thegn Einar Sibbison!”

Each of the warriors cheered as he slid the armband up and over the muscular bicep.  It was a slight strain, but when in place, it fit at the top of his arm just below his shoulder.

After a few seconds, Bior raised his hands and pointed to a pair of casks sitting on a table.

“Now, we shall celebrate tonight, but tomorrow, we will answer the call!”

Without waiting, every warrior was gone, leaving Einar standing there with Bior as they raced off like thirsty horses who had just discovered a river.

“Thank you again, My Jarl.” 

Snorting, the leader of the land clasped Einar on the shoulder and chuckled.

“Why is it I can’t send you out on a task and just have it done like every other Viking?  You have to go off and kill a shadow walker, it seems, and find a new way to hide from our enemies, and there is some rumor going around that shieldmaidens want a moment of your time.”

Bior had tried to pretend to frown but was failing as he spoke, smirking by the end.

“Tell me, what do you have planned next? I need to know so I can assist while keeping up appearances.”

“Money… I will make some more from those flowers and seeds I retrieved in the forest, but I need to send half of that back to the fort for Jodis and Torfi to get their share.”

Einar ignored the rare snort that came from the jarl at the mention of both shieldmaidens.

“The jar has a value, and I will wait for you to figure that out.  Obviously, half of that is yours, but I’m certain it will be highly desired, and once the shadow walker corpse is retrieved, that also will fetch a sum.”

“Get to the point,” Bior whispered as he motioned for them to walk toward the others. “We cannot sit here and gossip like shieldmaidens all day.”

“Runes… I need that rune from the capital.  Any luck on that?”

Sighing, Bior shook his head as they slowly made their way across the field.

Einar almost chuckled, knowing the man had intentionally put it across there to give them time to talk.

“Hmm… 700… maybe 650 gold… if you didn’t want an advanced one, it would be cheaper.  The items are expensive, and the fee to craft it… sometimes, I think I should have been a rune crafter and not a jarl.  Robbery is what it is.  Those guilds…”

“I actually have a solution for that, but I needed to wait until today before I could share it,” Einar said. “What if I had a rune crafter who is willing to join me and do work for you but doesn’t want a lot of people knowing they are here?”

Bior’s arm extended and stopped Einar as he halted.

“You’re telling me you know a rune crafter who can make advanced tier runes outside of the guild and is willing to join you?”

The shocked look on Bior’s face was one of the few times Einar had seen the jarl forget to hide his feelings.  The right eye was twitching at an alarming rate of speed, and his mouth was only open a little bit, but it was enough to know the jarl was caught off guard.

“I do… again, I will send a letter, and he will come.  Whatever name he gives you, know it’s not his real one, but he will need a place to stay, away from others.”

Einar motioned at the group of warriors who were watching them, and they resumed their walk.

“He has money, so don’t listen to him when he whines about needing more.  In the end, he is committed to me and my task.  Someone you would probably enjoy talking with even though he will avoid you.”

A few yards passed in silence as the jarl weighed everything Einar had just told him.

“Send for him.  Give him a letter to return with, and I will make sure he is set up here and given what he desires,” Bior replied quickly.  “If he can do what you say, it will save you almost 200 gold.  Will he craft other runes if materials are provided?”

“For a reduced price, yes.”

Those blue eyes began to sparkle as the jarl started doing math in his head, considering how much gold he could save and what impact that might have in the capital.

Twenty yards away from the other Vikings, Bior started laughing, and Einar started laughing as well.

“Warriors! Do not trust this man with your daughters! Though I doubt he will share with any of you what he told me, it appears not only is he gifted with a weapon but with his tongue as well!”

The thegnar and the housecarls all began laughing, raising mugs and waving for Einar to come join them and share the story he must have told if Bior laughed that hard.

“Be smart,” the jarl said as he gave him one last pat on the back and turned to head inside.

“No drink?” Einar asked.

“If this was a housecarl celebration, yes.  Achieve that rank, and I will show you how to celebrate,” Bior said as he walked away.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, and Einar turned to see Thorodd pulling him toward the celebration.

“Let him go and come drink! It’s time you learned the joys of being a thegn!”

***

Two casks had not lasted long, and Einar found himself in his new room.  No longer did he have to share a room with another dreng.  The bed was simple. He had a chest, a table, a chamber pot he didn’t have to share, a dresser, and, more importantly, privacy.  

Sitting on the chair at his table, Einar pulled out the notebook he kept.

Scanning the lines he had written on it, Einar realized he wanted to check something. Focusing on just the rune portion of the information he could pull up, the words began to appear before him.

Runes:

Gungnir’s Strength (Chest) Legendary (Hidden) 

Max Training Stat for Strength, Endurance and Agility is 50. 2.5 x Growth Rate

25% Bonus to Perception - No Stat Limit

Max Training Stat for Wisdom and Mysticism is 50. 1.5 x Growth Rate

Valkyries’ Blessing [ Death Penalty Mitigated ]

Muninn’s Memory - Learning Speed [ Normal ] 2.5x

Rune Level Bonuses:

Lvl 1 - 10% Bonus to Strength and Endurance

Lvl 2 - 10% Bonus to Agility and Perception

Experience 28%

Warrior’s Defense (Back) Intermediate

10% Bonus to Endurance

Experience 89%

Warrior’s Blessing (Stomach) Advanced

10% Bonus to Strength and Endurance

5% Bonus to Damage

Experience 89%

Might of the Viking (Right Arm) Advanced

10% Bonus to Strength

10% Bonus to Damage

Experience 89%

*****

Thirty percent of a single level for one shadow walker?!

The knowledge that one beast had given so much made him wonder what kind of other experience was given for killing different creatures he hadn’t faced yet.

“I wonder what kind of experience a giant gives…” Einar said out loud, smiling as he started writing down numbers in his journal.  

Odin, I’m doing my part!