FSE

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**Chapter 1.

Chance Opportunity.**

_"Gelt has been at tribal war for as long as anyone can remember. It is only a fool who thinks that the various factions, political allies and mortal enemies will ever be united into a single entity. Costal raids are as common as pebbles on a beach and have been going on since we first set sail on the oceans. To try and stop a longships captain from raiding is like trying to telling a bird to stop flying or a shark to stop swimming. You might as well try pissing into the wind"

Advisor Ljoekelsoey._

~

T he descending red sun silhouetted the mainland coastline, leaving behind dark shadows which added extra depth and menace to the kraken tooth shaped stones jutting threatingly from the water's surface. The ocean breeze was sweetened by the nearby lands, carrying the scents of civilisation and in particular the hint of wheat fields ripe with the summer harvest. Fish lazily swam close to the surface in shoals, their fins and heads sometimes snapping or breaking the mirror like quality of the water in their quest for easy food.

Magnus gazed upon them, a bemused smile creasing his lips. Leaning on the forward rails of his longship, Nihus, the fishing quality in this rarely travelled part of the kingdom dawned on him slowly. Had his ship been a fishing vessel, his catch would be a fruitful and simple one. He lifted his gaze up to the razor rocks and nearby shoreline, noticing how the retreating light gave them a terrifying quality that was completely unfounded.

The Nihus was a shallow draft warship and as such she would not fall foul to the death bringing rocks and invisible embankments under the surface. As if to reassure himself he gripped the rail tightly and slapped it with his left paw.

"Captain, off the bow, smoke"

The words broke Magnus's thoughts and he snapped his head around to the bow. He was forced to narrow his eyes to see past the glare from the water but in the distance he could definitely make out a thin line of whispy smoke over the next land mass. "Well seen Gotra" he praised his lieutenant. "It looks like we have struck gold" he growled deeply with anticipation.

"Your orders captain?" Gotra asked as he stood next to his leader, his bulky and powerful armoured form causing the deck to creak under the weight of them both.

"Raise the mast and catch the southern winds, stow the oars and get the crew ready for landing" Magnus replied sternly.

Gotra slammed a clenched paw into his chest in acknowledgment. "Very well captain" he replied.

Magnus looked back at the thin wisp of smoke as it played carelessly on the coastal breeze. It was only just visible now behind the large finger of land which blocked the sources from view. "Gotra" he bellowed above the din of his lieutenant's orders.

Gotra ceased shouting at the crew for long enough to hear his captain. "Aye sir?"

"Tell the helmsman to bring us wide around this coastline and then find us a beaching place as quickly as possible, tell him that if he flounders the Nihus I will string him from the mast and hack of his limbs one at a time"

Gotra nodded and disappeared amongst the mass of armoured warriors who were now tightening straps and frantically sharpening weapons, shoving aside those unfortunate to be in his way.

Magnus watched him go with a chuckle. He had known his best friend since childhood. They had grown up together and took part in their first raid at each other's side. They had killed their first as a pair when just young adults. Nothing could now be further in the past. Since then their lifestyle had forged them into fearsome creatures, strong as oxen and as ruthless in a fight as a back alley harbour assassin.

Whoever was on the other side of that land mass was about to get the deadliest surprise of their lives.

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The deathly threat worked as the navigator expertly turned Nihus into the wind. The sails were secured and the warship suddenly jerked with speed as it caught the strong push of the air currents. Bringing Nihus around the coastline in a wide berth was not the desired way to raid a settlement as it gave the villagers more time to notice the ship and flee. However, the sheer amount of razor rocks and jutting stones gave Magnus little to no choice in the matter. He watched with barely suppressed glee as the finger of land slowly revealed a sandy secluded cove with white shingled beaches. Further up from the beach, no more than four hundred axe throw lengths was a well settled village.

The smoke was coming from a wooden chimney which was attached to a large logged building. It was surrounded by smaller huts and out houses that appeared to cling to the larger building like limpets and barnacles on a ship's hull.

The Nihus burst through the waves like a knife through flesh, cleaving its way towards the shore with furious intent. Standing at the very front of the ship and gripping the dragon head in one paw Magnus scanned the settlement for any sign of life. Nothing moved, not even cattle or women busy at work. In the hundreds of raids he had conducted or taken part in, he had never seen such a still village like the one he now set eyes upon. It put his nerves on edge and raised his hackles immediately.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and focused on the fact he was now only seconds away from making landfall and getting to grips with anything inside the settlement. Behind him, his crew laughed and joked as they finalized their preparations. Some were praying or asking favours of various sea deities for safe passage and protection whilst others just licked their lips and vicious teeth as they waited for the inevitable impact on the shoreline which signalled the order to dismount.

Gotra appeared next to him, surprisingly calm despite the adrenaline Magnus knew was coursing through his friend's body. He was carrying Magnus's round shield and axe which he held out for his captain to take.

Magnus nodded in appreciation and took the weapons from him. He strapped the shield firmly in place around his left forearm and grasped its steel handle tightly. He then hung his great axe, Freki, from his shoulder loosely.

The shoreline was now unbearably close and it took all his self control to stop himself simply jumping from the warship and into the surf. "Sound the horns!" he bellowed at the top of his voice.

In reply, three of his crew lifted bronze horns to their rough lips and let rip with a bone chilling dirge. The alarm started out quiet enough and ended moments later in a fantastically loud crescendo of noise.

"Prepare for impact!" Gotra shouted as the Nihus began to scratch the beach.

The scree and shale on the beach finally became too much for the ship to push against and the Nihus ground to a sudden halt, half her length out of the water. Before she had even stopped moving, Magnus had leapt from the bow and landed heavily on the beach. All around him his crew followed suit, some losing their footing and others crunching to the floor with less dignity. Gotra was already moving towards the village at a flat out pace, stones flying up from behind his heavy legs as he struggled to get any footing, a frustrated roar on his lips.

Magnus ran in his wake, the small pebbles and stones his lieutenant kicked up bouncing harmlessly from his shield and helmet. His crew roared and shouted in glee as it descended on the unexpecting village, firmly intent on taking all of its spoils with little resistance. Magnus was suddenly aware that it was raining, but he dismissed the thought to the back of his mind as the bloodlust overtook him and he began to masticate and drool uncontrollably.

They had jumped the outer fencing and were halfway up the beach when the unthinkable happened. In a heartbeat, the defenceless village sprouted spines like a threatened porcupine and defended itself.

Villagers poured from the buildings and took up cover behind some overturned carts and outer walls. The first Magnus was aware of them was when two of his crew fell to their knees, clutching at their chests. Arrows and bolts stuck out in various directions making his men resemble fleshy pincushions.

He raised his shield in time as two vicious looking arrows pierced its reinforced wooden frame and stopped only inches from his head. "Shields!" he roared as a warning to those of his crew who had not already caught on. "They have archers!"

Magnus carried on scrambling up the shale, his vision now severely blocked. In front of him he could make out Gotra staggering back as an arrow caught him in the left shoulder with a thud. His lieutenant roared in defiance, broke the arrow shaft in half with a powerful bite and continued to sprint up the wet beach, leaving his shield dangling uselessly from his back.

Another volley descended on his crew and three more were caught unlucky. Magnus watched as one caught an arrow in his leg, fell over and was then pierced by two more in the head and chest. He could think of nothing more now than killing those responsible in the most brutal of ways.

He caught up with Gotra as they smashed down one of the fences and took cover behind a log building. Reaching behind him he took Freki in a one handed grip from his shoulder and let the sling fall to the floor. Gotra's left arm hung uselessly to his side as he glanced at his leader. "Just a scratch, I've had worse"

Magnus smiled and nodded in reply. More of his crew who had survived the unforeseen missile volleys now crashed through the fences and joined them. "I don't know about you friend but I've had enough of these cowards, what say we teach them a lesson?"

Gotra drew his short sword in his right paw and growled. "Aye captain, sounds like a plan"

Magnus burst around the building and fell right into the path of a pair of villagers who were frantically notching two more arrows. He roared and leaped the distance, his axe flashed in two wide arcs and both of his white tiger male targets tumbled to the floor, sprays of blood ejecting from arterial strikes. "Cut them down!" he roared as he bounded over to a nearby hovel and kicked down its reinforced door.

His crew surged forward into the defences and he suddenly heard the sound of steel on steel as the villagers defended themselves against the assault.

Gotra entered the hovel first as Magnus turned and deflected a sword strike which would have run him through. The tiger who had attacked him was a well built male with numerous scars on his face from mating battles. Magnus fell back as another strike deadened his shield arm. In reply he suddenly charged forward, knocking his assailant back three yards and with a furious overhand strike cut off the male's sword arm at the elbow. As his enemy staggered back clutching his stump Magnus decapitated him with a deft swing.

The males head landed eight yards away, as his body slumped to the ground lifeless.

Gotra then reappeared from the hovel, his muzzle and chest covered in blood which wasn't his own. "Nothing worth keeping" he stated matter of factly as he loaped off towards the large building.

Magnus licked his lips, clearing some of the gore spray from his face. He looked around the village quickly, assessing the tide of the raid. His men had finally reached the defenders and were now setting about butchering them. Amongst the muddy streets he could see dead villagers and warriors spread in random patterns, victims from the close combat he had brought upon them.

A tigress's howl of rage brought him to his senses, originating from the large building that Gotra had descended upon. It took him only seconds to reach the barred double doors and he shoulder barged them open, their locks shattering uselessly under the assault.

Inside the building, huddled in a corner he found the villages children and women. Standing defiantly in front of them, pitchfork in hand, a lone tigress held back Gotra as he laughed and toyed with her at range.

"Gotra!" he growled. "Back off".

His injured lieutenant glanced at him and was about to reluctantly fall back when the tigress stole her chance and lunged. She buried both prongs of the fork deep in his right leg causing him to scream in pain. "Hoar!" he cursed through clenched teeth as he crawled away unsteadily, the farming tool still embedded in his thigh.

Without skipping a beat, the tigress picked up a length of wood and waved it around her head like a club. Her eyes were maniacal and devoid of sense. Magnus stepped in front of his friend and dropped his shield and Freki to the hay strewn floor. Holding his arms out wide he looked her right in the eyes.

Again, seizing her chance, she brought the wood around in an overhead arc to try and crush his skull. Unfortunately the heavy and cumbersome impromptu weapon harmlessly bounced from the floor as Magnus stepped in close and gripped her in a vice like hug from behind. She kicked frantically, striking his knees with bare feet and trying to bite into his forearms to break the hold.

He held firm, sapping her strength as she burnt out from exhaustion. The adrenaline seeping from her body. In the corner, the women and children sobbed with fear as their lone saviour was subdued. Finally, and after minutes of aggression and curses, she tired herself out enough for him to throw her to the floor with the others. She pitifully crawled back amongst them like a sheep rejoining the flock. They cradled her as she gasped for breath.

"Are you okay Gotra?" he asked, keeping his eyes firmly on the group.

"No captain, I got stuck by a woman, I'm going to be the crews laughing stock"

Despite himself Magnus chuckled. "Get the crew to round up the survivors, kill the men. Bring the rest here and set guards on them all. Loot the village and take anything worth keeping back to the Nihus."

Gotra leaned against one of the walls and with a tug pulled the pitchfork clear of his thigh. Blood flowed freely down his leg and mixed with the mud on his fur. "Aye captain" he seethed. "Anything else?"

Magnus picked up Freki and his shield from the floor and gazed over at the exhausted tigress being protected by the other women. Her eyes spat hatred and venom despite her body having no fight left.

"No lieutenant, that's all...for now"

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Hours later, after the last of the village males had been rounded up and dispatched; the crew ransacked all of the buildings and outhouses. Many of them had located caches and deposits of winter stores stockpiled for the oncoming winter season. Under supervision from leading crew members they had gathered most of the produce into the large log house and set up a temporary home from home. Parties of crew members then returned back to the Nihus and brought ashore great kegs of strong ale and mead which they had captured from a fat merchantman days before in the narrow straights to the north.

Magnus relaxed in a large wooden chair which he had found in a large village hut amongst its torched and charcoaled remains. Around him, many of his crew laughed and joked rautiously, slapping backs and quaffing tankards of ale. They openly feasted on the food stuffs which had been located, toasting bread and slabs of meat on a large open fire which had been started in the centre of room. The heat was immense and not just a single tiger singed his paw fur on an unexpected flame.

Gotra who sat nearby on a bench was not as relaxed. His right thigh had been bandaged up roughly and his left shoulder was a bloody mess. After the raid he had removed the rest of the arrow shaft unassisted with only a quick draft of ale and a bitestick to help him with the pain. Now thoroughly drunk he simply lay against a large oaken table, ten empty bottles and half eaten plates of food serving as a makeshift pillow, snoring heavily.

In the corner of the room, still huddled together and terrified, the women and children cowered. Most of the crew were wise enough to leave them alone but occasionally a drunken fool would attempt to drag a female away or even raise a weapon. Three times Magnus's crew leaders had quickly dealt with the perpetrators, taking them outside and firmly beating them to near death. Female tigresses were prized objects and the five who were unlucky enough to be captured in this raid were decent specimens.

"Captain" one of his crew leaders, Jorgung, reported. "Six of our crew were killed by the arrows and defenders; we are going to be short manned on the return voyage"

Magnus nodded slowly, not really paying much attention. He let his eyes settle on the dancing fire which cast playful shadows on the inside of the wooden building. Through the heat and haze of the flames he set his gaze upon the female who had injured Gotra earlier in the day. She sat, clutching her knees to her chest, head resolutely straight. If she noticed him, she did not show it and instead continued to watch the revelry with a mix of anger and hatred.

"Captain?" Jorgung interrupted.

Magnus rolled his head and stared directly at Jorgung who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Add extra hours on to each shift and increase the pay of the crew by a third for the return journey. That should solve the problem..." he looked around at the other crew leaders who nodded in agreement. "Or have I missed something out"

"No captain that will do nicely" Hetrun, another leader, replied quickly already counting up the added coins he would receive mentally.

Magnus took another draft of ale and bit off some more meat from a pig's leg he had been roasting. As he looked over at the female again he was startled to find her glaring at him, fangs slightly bared and a look of pure murder creasing her lips.

"I think you killed her father" Hetrun added, noticing the daggers flying between his captain and the female. "You took his arm and then his head".

"I remember Hetrun, it was but hours ago"

He grunted in acknowledgment and continued to carve a rough pattern in the wooden table with his belt knife. "She has spirit though, the only one who isn't crying and wailing like a sea devil"

Magnus nodded slowly to himself and took another bite. "True and Gotra felt a taste of her fury"

Hetrun laughed a little and pointed his blade in the direction of his sleeping lieutenant. "He only ever gets that drunk when something has hurt his pride; getting run through by a woman has got to come close to the top of the list"

The fire masked the female for a few moments as someone added yet more kindling. It roared into life, quickly enveloping the fresh wood. When it settled once more, he noticed she had moved a little further away from the group. He could see her right paw was fumbling with some hay on the floor even as she tried her best to conceal it.

"Make sure the Nihus is in good shape and ready to set sail tomorrow, before midday. Load all of the goods back on to her and get the females and children boarded and secured" Magnus ordered, off hand.

"Aye captain" Jorgung replied. "Where is our next destination?"

"Home"

Jorgung and Hetrun grinned wickedly to each other and a small bag of coins was passed between them. Magnus could not tell who the winner of the inner bet was and in truth he did not care. Instead he stood up, took two bottles of ale and a plate of food from the nearby table and stretched his back loudly.

"Where are you going?" Gotra sleepily inquired, obviously slightly woken by his friend's movement.

"To see if the banshee is hungry"

Gotra nodded as if he completely understood and then feel asleep again almost as soon as his head touched his massive forearms.

Magnus skirted around the group of his senior crewmen, clutching the two bottles easily in one paw and the plate in the other. The crew who joked and laughed in groups simply parted as he walked between them, nodding their heads or passing comments to let them know how impressed they were with the latest haul. He mostly ignored them but did stop once or twice to praise certain individuals he had heard of or seen in battle earlier that day. Finally, after what seemed like an age he managed to reach the corner of the building where the captured villagers still huddled together. It was dark now, not even the light of the fire breaking thorough the press of bodies and captured stockpiles of food and goods.

He approached slowly to ensure he displayed as little as a threat as possible. The tigress who had so bravely defended herself earlier that day and who he had seen moments earlier fumbling in the hay simply growled deeply as he broke from the throng, her ears folding back and a snarl creasing her lips once again. She looked at the plate and ale bottles he carried and then slowly lifted her head to lock eyes with him.

"I don't want food or drink you pig" she hissed.

Magnus smiled and simply set them down in front of the other women and children. "As you wish, though in truth I didn't bring them for you anyway"

The tigress hugged her legs as before and did her best to ignore him.

"What is your name?"

"I hope you die a long and horrible death" she cursed.

Magnus nodded and then crouched down in front of her, laying his arms across his thighs and leaning slightly forward. "I asked you what you name was..."

She looked away defiantly a silent reply hanging the air.

Within a heartbeat he covered the distance between them and gripped her by her left shoulder. Without much effort he then hoisted her to her feet and threw her against a nearby thick wooden beam causing it to shake with the impact. "Your name woman" he growled.

After recovering from the assault she managed to stagger to her feet once again and grip the beam for support. "I do not fear you"

Magnus laughed heartily and approached her once more. As he got close she lunged at him, fangs bared. He simply side stepped her frantic attack and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and hair, pulling her head back and baring her throat. "Very well woman, if you will not tell me then I will have to force it from you". With a grunt of effort he dragged her protesting form a few metres towards the open doors he had barged open earlier.

"Jorgung, you're in command until I get back" were the last words he said to his crew before he dragged the growling and screaming woman out of the building and into the night air.