Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 56 - A Rune for Einar (Patreon)

Two days had passed since Arngrim had started the process of etching runes onto the stone.  Occasionally, Einar needed a break from the room. The smell and need for freedom forced him to leave for a few hours.

Returning after a small walk, he turned the corner of the hallway that led to where he would hole up again for another night.  There outside it stood a man he could spot a long distance away.

“You shouldn’t know I’m here,” Einar told Thorodd who was waiting outside the door of Arngrim’s workshop.

“Then you need to learn to be stealthier or less of a hero in the eyes of everyone,” the large man replied.  “I’m here because I already talked to Jarl Bior, and I wanted to make this official.”

Einar paused a few feet from the large man who moved his hands from behind his back.  An axe was in his right one and the man bent down, laying it on the ground before the stunned thegn.

“I pledge my axe and my life to you.  When you call, I shall answer.”

Thorodd stood there, grinning as Einar was caught off guard, not speaking at all.

“I’m not ready for—”

“You are, and there are others who are waiting for you to announce what we all expect will come soon.  I’m here to help and offer my wisdom in those choices.”

Coming to his senses, Einar nodded and picked up the axe.  Hefting it in his hand a few times, he could feel the weight of it, the handle that was an inch or two longer, the well-worn grooves from where Thorodd had gripped it countless times.

“I would be honored to have you by my side.  I cannot offer much yet, but I will gladly take the wisdom and advice that you give.”

Handing the axe back to Thorodd, the larger man took it and slipped the weapon into his belt loop.

“Then tell me what you are looking for.  Bior knows and word is spreading to the other warbands.  There will be many seeking to offer you their axe.”

“How many?” Einar asked, frowning slightly at that news.

“At least thirty.  Maybe more.”

Wincing, he couldn’t help but know that was too many and too soon.

“That’s going to cause problems, isn’t it.”

Thorodd nodded and cleared his throat.

“I’m going to always speak my mind, so if you don’t like that, we’ll have to deal with that later.  Do you understand?”

Nodding, Einar grinned and waited to hear what was coming next.

“I know you want your two friends to come join you.  Honestly, do not take Guat.  He is doing well where he is at and bringing him to you now would ruin any chance of the honor he deserves belonging to him.  

“Osvif is at a place where you could bring him here. He isn’t as strong as some of those who will offer but I know the relationship means a lot to you.  I’m certain we will help him become the warrior he can be.”

“That leaves eight. 

“Actually, more,” Thorodd said. “You need a healer, some support, and weapon holders, along with a cook unless you plan on doing all the cooking. You also need a team of horses, wagons, and—”

“So, I need a lot more money.”

“Unless you have at least 100 gold ready to drop on everything, procuring weapons, armor, food, housing, and the rest, yes.  Do you want to share your finances with me?”

“I have about seventy gold.  In a few months, I should have the 100 we need after getting paid for all the programs I develop, the sale of a few more items I brought, and a reward Bior says I have earned for destroying the portal stone.”

Thorodd’s eyes were moving as he did some calculations in his head.  

Einar had known the man was smart, well versed in the ways of tactics and planning.  Seeing how gifted he was at this made him wonder if Bior hadn’t sought the brown headed man out and told him to come.

“Then we need to go slow.  Many will offer their axe and we will respond the same that we are acquiring money and when the time is right and their axe is needed, you shall call upon them.  It won’t be a complete denial and without making too many moves at once, they will understand that when the decision finally does come, perhaps it won’t sting too badly.”

“I also have to pay off the debt to their Hersir.”

Shaking his head, Thorodd held up four fingers.

“Bior has talked with them, and all of them have agreed to let whoever you pick outside of a rare few, none that they will allow to join no matter how much I wish they would, at no cost.”

The taller man leaned over, put his hand on Einar’s shoulder and smiled at him.

“Odin himself couldn’t have worked out a better deal than this.  For men to pass on gold means a few different things, but I would focus on just one.  Each of them believes you are going to lead us to be what we desire.  I know Bior’s heart, and I have seen how he talks and looks at you.  There is no doubt he believes you will bring about what he dreams of.  For that, the man will empty his vaults if it means the safety of our people.”

Sighing, Einar nodded and felt the weight of such pressure on him.

“Now then,” Thorodd motioned to the door they were near.  “Apparently, no one is allowed in there but you and Bior. Should I ask why?”

“You can, but the answer is, in time, you will find out our greatest secret to growing stronger is behind those doors.  I trust you with my life, having fought beside you and watching as you bled.  Know that I have no doubt when the time comes, you shall have two more tattoos and be as prepared as possible.”

Those brown eyes went wide at hearing Einar basically promise to make the man a legend.

“You would give me a full runic blessing?”

Nodding slowly, Einar smiled.

“My goal is that our whole pack will be the first with that.  Eight tattoos are a powerful thing. The blessing that comes from that is rarely spoken of to prevent fools from putting anything they can in every slot.”

“There have been times… times I considered doing such a thing, but if what you say is true, then you are talking about runes beyond what is available here… runes that are…”

Thorodd glanced at the door, and his eyes grew even more, ready to fall out from how large they had gotten.

“A crafter…”

“I didn’t say that, and you won’t repeat that.  Anyone who cannot keep that secret will be removed from my pack.”

Thorodd’s face went hard in a moment, shaking his head and his lips pulled tight.

“I would die multiple times before I did such a thing.”

Nodding, Einar slapped the large man on his arm and then motioned down the hallway with his head.

“Good.  Now, I need you to go and let me be for a while.  I’ll find you later, and we can talk more.  Just know I am grateful to you and Bior for this.  The next time you see him, tell the Jarl I said thank you for sending you to me.”

Thorodd started to protest and then stopped, laughing loudly through the halls.

“I told him you would figure it out. Very well, I shall let you go.”

***

“How goes it?” Einar asked as he closed the door and saw Arngrim turn for a moment to see who had come in.

“I should be ready tomorrow morning to start the process.  It has been far too long since I have had someone looking over my shoulder, and I won’t lie, I hated it then and don’t like it now.”

Chuckling, he moved to the corner and practiced the technique Groa had taught him.  

“I understand that.  I won’t say anything, but I do have one last question.”

Sighing, Arngrim set down the tools he had been using, turned slowly on the stool, and stretched.

“Why do I feel like this inquiry is going to take longer than I want?”

Grinning, Einar shrugged and sat down against the wall.

“You never answered my question, but an epic rune.  What would it really take to make one and how long would it take to create it?”

Arngrim groaned and rubbed his face as he leaned side to side, working out the stiffness from having sat in the same position for two days.

“There is a reason we don’t talk about those runes and most of it has to do with how impossible it is to get items for them,” the rune crafter explained. “Back when Vikings fought how they were supposed to, even then it wasn’t as common as you might believe.  One king was rumored to have had two epic runes, while some say he had three.  Utred… that was a king who moved mountains.”

The older man chuckled as he popped his neck with his hands.

“Some used to believe he had a legendary rune, but that would have been impossible.  Only a god can grant the items required to craft those, and even then, the knowledge and time it would take… and the power.”

Arngrim shuddered as he ran with that thought.

“The amount of wyrd, I’m not sure anyone has that kind of ability anymore.”

Einar said nothing, smiling as he considered what it really must have required of Odin to create the one he had.

“So epic runes.  What about those?”

“Slow down, boy,” Arngrim muttered. “Now we’ll need items from the dwarves, a metal that isn’t cheap to acquire.  Some other realms like Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim and most others have stones that serve as the basis for the rune.  Depending on what one is looking for will determine what kind is needed.”

Turning on his stool, Arngrim picked up a piece of the stone he had cut off while shaping and then spun around and tossed it at Einar.

“That stone has magic embedded in it. Did the All-Father drop that massive piece just for this reason? Many have rumored that it was created for us because of our rune magic.  The stone in Muspelheim is required for an epic fire rune.  The power of it amplifies the magic and can harness the power of flames required.  It is also the same place where the heart of an elemental must be found.”

“A fire elemental?”

Nodding, Arngrim winced slightly. 

“Fighting those things has cost many Vikings their lives within the first few seconds.  Only when outfitted from gear from the dwarves and elves can one really be ready to face such a creature.”

“Which is on my list of things to do but requires money to even consider trades.”

“I told you, it may be easier to take quests from them and retrieve items for those two realms.  It’s like a stepping stone or your training program.  We can’t just jump into Niflheim unless we want to freeze our balls off.  One must acquire all the equipment and gear they can to withstand the elements first before facing the second problem in those realms.”

“So, tell me… what do we need to focus on for me then?”

Picking at his teeth with a fingernail, Arngrim sat there, finding some piece of food that had been there at least since morning and after looking at it, put it back in his mouth and swallowed it.

“Your back rune would be a great replacement. An epic Bear’s Fury rune would be a massive boon if we could make one. That would require us to find items across two realms, both easier than others.  After you endure the pain and agony of having that rune removed, we could find an etcher capable of giving it to you.  Of course, at some point we must find an etcher we can trust that won’t speak and share everything we are doing.”

“Yet another problem to overcome,” Einar sighed.  “Before I forget, Thorodd has become one of my men.  He is my first of the pack.”

Grinning, Arngrim cackled and then paused all of a sudden.

“Bior did that!” he exclaimed. “He granted you a gold piece!”

Nodding, Einar smiled.

“He did… that man believes in you and me and what we’re doing.  So now we need to show him it is worth all of the time and effort he has invested.”

Stretching, Arngrim’s face clenched like he was in pain before he sat up straight and pointed at the corner.

“Let me do my part then, and you practice.  You’re getting closer to three hours; I can smell it.”

Laughing, Einar stood up and began undressing, preparing for the pain he was about to endure.