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Chapter 14: A Matter of Honor

Loud noises could be heard from the tents placed several kilometers away from the town of Jokulldal. A rather massive complex, filled with several men of rather impressive stature, which openly presented their scared bodies. Amongst them, a certain figure stood out even more than the rest: Jarl Eirik, a black wolf of a size much more impressive than most of his brethren.

He was currently chewing on a piece of abandsalzari loins, which was glazed with honey and sprinkled with spices as he chewed it down.

"Jarl Eirik, we are ready to enter the proximity of Jokulldal," one of his men now called out to him as he entered the lupine's tent. "We also have gotten message that Prince Vidar has reappeared and is on his way to his father's longhouse."

The wolf chuckled and swallowed the piece of meat he had in his mouth before he got up and looked at his subordinate. "At least someone with a head I can present to the people. That should be fitting. Tell the men that we will move and are now packing."

With a nod the warrior left the tent to give the other men their orders from Eirik, while the wolf was now finally alone again.

"Quite a pity, but someone needs to pay the price. And without Bjartr, I think you are out of luck Vidar," the wolf said as he put the rest of his meal into his mouth and swallowed it whole before he went towards a chest and opened it to pull out a small mosaic portrait, showcasing a small black wolf with a larger next to it. "It is a hard time for a father to lose his son. It can bring them to madness. The same applies the other way round."

The town of Jokulldal was covered in a blanket of snow and ice, as usual for the later year. Many wooden buildings stood close together, with the King's longhouse being the biggest and one of the few that were made from stone as well.

At the frozen plaza a wolverine stood and was glancing towards the sky as she stepped closer to the building and opened the door. Munt Vigdis was checking for the chambers and sunk her head at the empty bed of King Bjartr before she eventually sat down on the chair next to the throne.

"Munt Vigdis, we have an urgent matter to discuss," a voice now called her as two beaver guards were approaching. "Eirik and the remaining Jarls will be here by the hour of sunset, and as far as our raven told us, Eirik plans to kill everyone, who opposes him."

Vigdis nodded and closed her eyes. "In that case, we need to do something. Send out an assassin, and hope that this nightmare will find its end soon enough."

"As you order, Munt Vigdis," the beavers replied and went out in order to do as she asked for, stumbling a little bit over a single stair that was put close to the entrance for no apparent reason.

"Odin shall smite that bastard down," Vigdis now said into the air as she clenched her fists and punched against a wooden shield, splitting it in two in the process. "Bjartr, I will never forgive your cowardice."

An hour later, Vidar was now slowly waking up with Leofwine in his arms as the carriage was approaching Jokulldal. He was snuggling a little more with the otter, before he decided to get ready to enter his hometown.

Meanwhile Aldric and Völundr were sitting in the driver's booth and now passing the gate leading into the town. The badger was looking a bit drowsy while Völundr was holding the reins, though they were both getting off slowly as they were stopping before the longhouse.

Hesitating at first, Vidar was now shaking Leofwine awake and giving the otter a lick over the right cheek. "We are here, Leof."

At first Leofwine was yawning loudly, before he looked into his lover's eyes and blinked. "Are you ready?"

"Not at all", the wolverine admitted as he helped Leofwine up and stepped out of the carriage with him. Immediately he breathed in the cold air and then glanced around himself. "This is, just like I remember."

"Good, because it would be best, if things get back to normal soon enough," Aldric said as he came closer and put a hand on Vidar's shoulder. "So, the munt should be here somewhere?"

Vidar nodded and then went to the door of the longhouse to knock at it with his heart sinking down to his legs in the process. Eventually he was checking, if something on him would look inappropriate and then smelled his armpits, just to twist his face in disgust.

As finally someone opened the small peephole, Leofwine was pleased to see the face of Vigdis already peeking out of it. "Prince Vidar?" she said questioning of what she was seeing. As she opened the door, she put her arms around the somewhat smaller Vidar and pressed all the air out of his lungs. "Freya be praised; you are back with us."

"As much as I like to give you some time, right now we might have a few things to discuss," Aldric intervened as he stepped past the two wolverines into the longhouse. "We need to get the green gem of the temple close to this town. It is of great importance."

Now Vigdis eased her grip on Vidar, allowing him to catch his breath, and went inside to take a place on her chair. "So, how did you fare back to us, my prince?"

For a moment, Vidar was averting her glance but then proceeded to sit down on the throne and take a deep breath. "We were ambushed in Argentflux, and wiped out with me as the sole survivor. Due to Leofwine and Aldric I was saved, and we learned that the phenomenon was causes by a gem. Those gems apparently harbor a dark secret, which is why we had to come here in order to get possession of the one gem in our temple."

"I see," Vigdis replied as she took a glance over to the others. "I thank you for bringing him back safely. You can think that right now someone on the throne is better than leaving it open for Eirik."

"Having a rock on it would be better than Eirik," Aldric stated as he walked closer and leaned on his staff as he looked around the wall that was adored with countless skulls that King Bjartr had collected from years of battle. "I could use a chainmail under the robe after my experience of almost getting a sword through my heart."

Vigdis gave him a nod and pointed at a door at the other side of the room. "We store some reserve weapons in there for quick access. Take what you need," she told the badger and then went over to Leofwine. "Hmm, your scent tells me that you and Vidar had the pleasure with each other a few times."

Leofwine blushed at that remark and then sheepishly looked at Vidar. "Well, I guess that is one way to put it. I hope that is not bothersome to you or anything."

"Well, we may find some solution about inheritance," the munt said as she pulled Leofwine into a hug. "Because I would totally peek on you two, if I wasn't married."

Völundr now crossed his arms and shook his head. "Eirik. We should focus on him now, so we can have his skull put on a lance."

"Ah right," Vigdis now realized as she turned to the boar and let off from Leofwine. "I already ordered to send out an assassin to deal with him on his way here. Due to his warfare, we lost six jarls, of which only two have suitable replacements. Meaning we only have only two jarls on our side, with a jarldottir and a jarlson in addition."

With a wry smile the boar stepped closer to Vidar and lowered his eyes. "For what happened to my sister, I hope you hold true to your word that his death will as painful as he deserves it."

"By Unnr's honor I will not just stop there," Vidar replied as he now got up from the throne and glanced around the wall of skulls around him. "And all of those that remain loyal to him will face the same fate."

"Might I ask who this Unnr is?" Vigdis now asked with an arched eyebrow at Vidar's and Völundr's remark.

Taking another deep breath Vidar now focused on the day he had spent with the mother of his child, and the tragedy that followed the next morning. "Last spring I and a woman got drunk and ended up in bed together. That woman was another wolverine named Unnr, thus it ended in her getting pregnant. Völundr was adopted into her family, so you already know what happened to her. And, my son is currently in safety I pray. I gave him the name Kjeld."

"Ah, my condolences," the munt turned to see towards the ceiling. "My father told me a lot about your brother. It is very good to hear that you let his legacy live on in your son."

"I just want to be a father that he deserves," Vidar replied with a soft smile forming on his muzzle. "All the running from responsibility, and only feeding my own pleasure, it has not brought me any happiness."

Now Aldric came back as he had put on his robe again and looked around the entire group. "Okay, we have recollected our thoughts, so the plans we have ahead of us is to stabilize Kärmave by killing Eirik and letting the remaining jarls decide that Vidar will be king, correct?"

Vigdis gave the badger a nod. "Still, in case something should fail, we need a plan B. You are a shaman; hence you know magic. Warriors here have trained in case they have to face mages, so the counter for that counter is essentially to wear chest protection and use shadow magic, a lot."

"Figures, that could have spared me a cut across the chest earlier," Aldric replied and scratched his chin. "Not to mention those dust bombs. I have figured those out already. Pesky things, really."

"Good, because in all honesty we need some spells that can incapacitate most of the enemies," Vigdis stated as she gave Aldric a smile. "So, any opinions you want to share?"

The badger nodded. "We should get the few mages you might have together and see what we can do," he suggested and glanced over to the wall. "Actually, there is also another thing. Summoning a spirit to our aid. To be very honest, many will try to summon maleficent spirits, so I have studied summoning evocations of a few more benevolent daemons."

"Sounds actually very promising," Leofwine said about Aldric's suggestion. "Um, so, how does the summoning work?"

Moving his staff around a little, Aldric moved into the middle of the room and placed it steadily before him. "Great Mother, hear my call. In the name of your children I ask of you, please open the path to Pandaemonia, so that we can call forth the servants of Danica. I call onto the name of Orobas!"

Just as Aldric finished the chanting, an explosion of white smoke happened and blinded everyone. As it lifted, a figure stood before the badger, which appeared to be a brown horse with a white spot on his forehead, dressed with rather fine blue-tinted clothing. "If you allow me to introduce myself, I am Prince Orobas. And, you need my help?"

"Yes, Orobas. We do need someone to help us with Eirik. Since you can grant favor of friend and foe, as well as tell secrets of the past, present, and future, we may have to ask you to let his allies show their allegiance to Vidar," the shaman explained the summoned daemon.

The horse-headed spirit nodded and then crossed his arms. "Not entirely, the future is not determined yet, so knowing the exact outcome is pretty much not possible. And changing hearts like that is not just an easy switch," he answered with a sigh and then chuckled. "But, I can essentially do tell you, the assassination already failed. So, I will provide you some help, Aldric. I shall try to let as many people turn away from Eirik as possible. Those whose hearts can yet be persuaded."

"I thank you, Orobas," the shaman replied as he bowed down before the daemon and removed his staff. A moment later Orobas had disappeared and the badger was now looking at Vidar. "We may still prepare for a larger battle, I fear."

"Yes. I will have to get myself some new armor," the wolverine replied and got up from his throne to stretch his limbs. "I fear in terms of battle strategy I need to put everything in Vigdis' hands."

The munt nodded as she was looking first at Vidar and then at Aldric. "I hope you won't mind, if I borrowed you? I think I also need to know more about those gems, and as a magician of sorts, you may have a better insight."

Aldric smiled without any hint of shame as he nodded. "I think that might depend. They are an enigma to me for the most part." With that he and Vigdis took off towards the staircase to the general quarters.

Now as Vidar only had Leofwine and Völundr with him, he was putting his hands on his forehead and sitting back down in the throne. "I kind of wish I could just show you around, have some nice evening in a tavern, and some dancing. I never have experienced war in my entire life, all I heard were the stories of my father decapitating all his foes when eastern riders tried to invade Kärmave and Bijulac."

Leofwine now got closer to his lover and embraced him into a hug. "It will all be over as soon as we defeat Eirik. And then we will establish peace, and make it last."

"Though, the mentality of Eirik is by no chance unique," Vidar replied as he put his arms around the otter and put his head on the smaller mustelids shoulder. "As a child, I was often told the stories of great warriors and how they killed their enemies. It was making me idealize such acts, until I went to Scathsolas for the first time, where I learned about Erlendr and how he was refusing to kill anyone in his quest to unite the north."

"Not that it is always an option," Völundr now said as he crossed his arms. "At times one may need to use force in order to protect others. As we had to see with my sister. Yet, I agree that the best solution is one where nobody has to die. And, I will be happy to help you to create the world that you desire."

Vidar smiled a little at the boar's words and then looked at Leofwine. "Yeah, we are going to create a world in which Kjeld can grow up without ever having to worry."

"So, how about we enjoy this day after we get our preparations done? I think we can still have fun together," Leofwine suggested as he pulled up Vidar from the throne.

Later, as the sun already was descending on the horizon, Vidar was walking with Leofwine towards the tavern of Jokulldal while he had his arm around the otter's shoulders. As he entered, several people turned as they saw their now returned prince. A young wolf was looking at the couple and walking right to them. "Your highness, we are so glad about your return! Please, let me pay for your drinks and food tonight."

"Um, thanks, but I think you should keep onto your coin. In fact," Vidar now pulled out a coin bag and threw it to the barkeeper. "Tonight, everything is on me!"

While at first many people were reserved, now they were breaking out in applause and chanting their prince's name as beer and mead were flowing like as if barrels had burst from overload.

Leofwine was taking a mug of mead, and already dropping his jaw at the size of it, while Vidar was laughing at him while holding his own mug and sinking his muzzle into it. "You were right; we should enjoy things as long as we can."

"In all honesty, you were the one to teach me this," the otter replied as he took a sip from his mug. "As you were at my side after I got knocked out, and as we were lying at the lake. You gave me a feeling that I might have people being there for me. And after you did everything in your power to make up for what happened in Sùil Cascade, and we had, you know, I think I finally have found my place in this world."

With a chuckle, Vidar gave the otter now a kiss on the cheek and then emptied the rest of his mug into his throat. "So, how about we dance a little? There is an open free space for a reason."

"Alright," the otter replied as he tried to empty the mug in one go and coughed up as he almost suffocated while trying to do so. As he was finished however, he got up with Vidar and went right into the middle of the hall, next to the space reserved for bards to play their songs. With a bit of care that his long tail would not be hitting anyone, he was now looking at Vidar and nodded as he began to move around on his feet with a swinging motion to his shoulders and hips.

Vidar mirrored those at first, but then began to spin and clap in his hands as the bards began to increase the speed of their melodies for the two to dance to. With a footwork that was rather impressive for the young wolverine's usual clumsiness, Vidar managed to bring even more people to the dance floor.

Seeing the speed and movement increase, Leofwine was now pushing the envelope even more by jumping over and landing on his hands to spin around with his arms supporting his entire weight, at times even just one, as he was showing off his abilities in improvised dancing.

Trying to keep up, Vidar attempted to do the same, but was ultimately not able to support his entire weight on solely his arms, and landed right on his butt and broke out in laughter about his own failure.

Leofwine soon joined into laughter, while he continued his more successful attempt of dancing, and then pushed himself in the air to land on his feet in order to help up the wolverine. "I never knew I could do that. It seems like not only Lucille inherited some good physical traits."

"Though, you do seem to have gotten some arm muscle since we met," Vidar said teasingly as he put his hands on the otter's biceps and squeezed them a little. He then put his left arm under the left arm of Leofwine and gave him a wink before he then began to move with him in a spiraling motion while the other guests began clapping, and the bards played an energetic and powerful song to enhance the ambience of the scene.

The otter was laughing as he was only looking at his beloved wolverine, and as they were dancing the time away, he soon dropped onto a bench and catching his breath as his legs became sore. "You are a wonderful person. I really mean it; I love you Vidar."

"I can only say the same about you," Vidar replied as he sat down next to Leofwine and licked him over the face. "You know, the people here can party all night without us. How about I show you something?"

Smiling at the offer, Leofwine got up from his bench and held the wolverine's hand as they left the tavern and returned to the longhouse. Inside, Leofwine could already feel a certain tension building up in Vidar as they went upstairs and got closer to a door, which had a faint scent of the burly prince coming from it.

Vidar opened it, and revealed a big bed and several dressers that he passed to lead Leofwine in. "This here is my room. Quite cozy, isn't it?"

"Whoever cleans it must be good at getting out the scents from other people," the otter joked as he sat down on the bed and felt the soft feathers and grass under the cloth. "So, you wanted me to show this bed?"

The prince chuckled a little as he gave Leofwine a quick kiss and then went towards one of the drawers and opened it. Glancing over to the otter, he was searching through the drawer with his hands and a satisfied expression on his face. "Close your eyes, please."

"Oh, that sounds nice," the otter replied and did as he was told to. Moments later he could feel Vidar putting something around his neck and then he gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Can I open them again?"

"It would be a shame, if you wouldn't," the wolverine said in a soothing voice as he sat down on the bed and caressed his lover's head a little.

The moment Leofwine had opened his eyes, they lit up in joy as he saw a necklace hanging around his neck, which consisted of a silver string and a small figurine of a dove made from gold with a small emerald filling the eyehole. "This is, beautiful."

"A bit cliché that I use some jewelry, but it is something I made by myself with my brother Kjeld when I was much younger," Vidar told as he embraced the otter a little more and dragged him further into the bed, so they could lie in it together. "And, it is my proposal to you. Do you want to be the, um," the wolverine now blushed under his fur, "my husband for the days that we wander the world together, until the Valkyries take us? I know, it might not even come to a ceremony, if I perish tomorrow. But, that is exactly why. I want you to know how much I love you. If I should die, at least I die as a happy man."

Just as those words were spoken, Leofwine's eyes began to tear up and he kissed Vidar on the muzzle with enough passion to almost prevent his lover from breathing. "Of course, nothing would make me happier than to be with you."

Saying nothing else anymore, Vidar proceeded to give Leofwine a few licks over the face and then took off his robe and armor below and then did the same to his lover. As they sat together in their light attire, he began to stroke gently over the otter's back and tail as they laid down together to embrace each other.

At another place Aldric and Vigdis were now sitting at a table and drinking a bit of water together. The badger was rubbing his eyes, as he finished his cuo. "Okay, I think that concludes everything we found out."

"Okay, nothing that may be relevant for tomorrow then. I suppose now I need to go over the plans on killing Eirik," Vigdis added and took a sip from her water. "In case he should start anything. It would be best if we could resolve this without any violence."

"Wise words. But we have to see, if we can make them surrender. Else our options have to be as brutal as necessary," Aldric said as he was now standing up and looking at the door. "Sorry, if may have to give you the rest of this in hand. I am not a war strategist."

"It will be alright, if I let my husband help me out." Vigdis gave him a nod and then took her scripts as she left the room first to leave for the fortress close to Jokulldal.

Having an entire evening ahead of himself, the shaman walked slowly outside and then sat down on the staircase in order to focus some more. As he was resting a little however, a small breeze seemed to come through a window, blowing a piece of paper with it, which landed right on his lap.

It read: "An important moment shall arise tomorrow. If things should take a turn for the worse, seek the city of Adamas. I shall bring you the pathway to the city. Also, Völundr might need a lesson. ~ Yishai"

"I just hope that neither message is a bad omen," the badger said to himself with a sigh. Having his nightly troubles now replaced with other troubles, Aldric slowly went out of the longhouse and then walked towards the tavern, where he suspected to find the boar. Much to his surprise however, there was no sign, not even the note of a scent of Völundr. Being somewhat disappointed, he stepped outside and began to sniff around to catch the boar's scent. Eventually he had to get past the city walls and into the woods to finally find him.

Völundr was sitting in the snow with a shining crystal on the ground as he was focusing his magic in between his hands, which were positioned over his chest. "Come on, work already," he mumbled as he let his hands sink down.

"I guess you try to channel magic through a body instead on just the surface. Let me help you out a little," Aldric said as he stepped closer to the boar and pulled him up from the ground. "Also, don't try to get a cold just to heal it. That can backfire quite a bit."

"Well, I just don't want to be bothered," the boat explained himself as he followed Aldric back into the town and to the longhouse. "People here are full magiaphobes, so I prefer to not use any."

The badger chuckled at that excuse. "Well, I am not a magiaphobe, so how about I help you a little?"

In response Völundr groaned in annoyance before he began to chuckle himself. "Okay, so how do I focus magic through a body, smartstripes?" He asked as they entered and went upstairs to the room of the boar.

Making sure that everything was fine, Aldric let the crystal enlighten the room from the best angle and then put the palms of his hands straight on his chest. "You know how you channel magic through your hands? This is the basic principle, but can only apply to what is in direct contact. However, if you extend the magic from what you can touch to what you can perceive, it can affect much more. Am I explaining that somewhat well?"

"Uh, I guess." The boar was now putting his own hands on his chest and took a deep breath. "Okay, so do I imagine my chest now?"

Aldric nodded. "The better you can picture how your body looks inside, the better really. So, I hope you have an idea about anatomy."

Now Völundr tilted his head. "From cutting open someone. Yeah, I guess that I have a somewhat good idea how my innards look like. Not the most appetizing picture."

"Though, it would put into consideration that butchers would make good healers," the badger commented jokingly as he now looked at the boar and waited for him to cast his spell.

As the magic went through his chest, Völundr gasped in surprise as he could feel it going through his entire back even. "Okay, that one worked out quite well."

"Well, when it comes to magic it is basically all about channeling it through something. It is very simple once you know how to do it, but of course the better you concentrate, the better your spells can get," Aldric now explained as he put a hand on the boar's shoulder. "Someday you will excel in it."

With a smile the boar now looked at Aldric and sat down on his bed. "Thanks. You know how I had to admit that I was always wanting to become a warrior? Well, I changed my mind about that. Instead I want to become someone that can help people more directly. And, with healing magic I could do that."

"Glad to hear that. Alright, we should now go to our beds and rest for tomorrow," the shaman said as he walked out of the room to return to his own chambers.

At the rise of the sun, Vidar was woken up by a loud drumming noise. Quickly he put on his clothing and armor before he gave the sleeping Leofwine a quick kiss and left his chambers to see what was going on.

Vigdis and Aldric were already waiting for him, and the munt went quickly up to him. "My prince, Eirik and the other jarls have reached Jokulldal. Two thirds of the troops of Eirik disbanded last evening, and a tenth of them is now on our side and protecting the other jarls."

"I guess that it was a good idea to have a daemon handle that," Vidar replied with a smile as he was securing a hand on his sword Laevateinn and went right outside into the cold snow, where masses of people were now surrounding the longhouse.

In the middle of it all, five figures stood. One was Dagný, who glanced with a smile at Vidar and then at Aldric, the others an old polar bear, yet another a young black bear, the next a middle-aged wolverine, and the last a black wolf with a size that made him even tower over the black bear.

With his eyes glaring at the wolf, Vidar was joining their circle and putting on a stern expression. "I, Prince Vidar of Jokulldal, have returned to claim my father's crown and throne. By the power bestowed to my blood, I ask of you to grant me your loyalty and blades."

"Really? The young cherry popper who has become a joke amongst the jarls for his insecurities and shaging everything he could get his hands on," the wolf replied as he stepped closer to Vidar and showed his teeth. "It would be a folly to hand over the rule to someone, who is essentially still a child. Even if you act like you are an adult, deep down you are still the failure that unfortunately survived that long."

Almost snapping at that remark, Vidar showed his teeth, but then refrained from showing any more anger and continued to look sternly at the wolf. "Jarl Eirik, you have violated the treaties between the jarldoms of Jokulldal by attacking and murdering Dagrun of Fartygköping. In the name of my father, I proclaim that you shall be sentenced to death."

Now Eirik arched an eyebrow and chuckled. "What good came from the codex of your family. We have become weak, because we have only used our blades for bandits and eastern raiders. There is no more honor to gain, if there is no war. And without honor, how shall we come to Asgard to aid the Aesir in their final battle? And how should we survive, if we can barely shield off the warriors from the East?" he now eased up his expression a little and stepped a bit back from Vidar. "Dagrun was denying his aid, so I was forced to set an example. See the truth, I fight for what belongs to me. I take only from those that are too weak to deserve what they have. For the sake of our people, this is what we should strive for, to become warriors that can hold together the north and reclaim from the raiders what is ours."

"Honor?" Vidar whispered as he unsheathed Laevateinn, ready to yell, "Murder and rape, do you call that honor? How you tear mothers away from their children, take the chance for a young child to ever know their parents? No, a warrior would protect the weak, if he had any honor! Not massacre them for the twisted joy of it!"

"Strong words. Have you practiced with your munt or the huscarl of your father about it? It won't persuade me to change my own perspective. It is not about murdering or some sick pleasure, it is about necessity. Have you an idea how I came to be a Jarl?" Eirik now asked as he gestured one of his men to come over with a satchel. "Because I was the only of four children to survive until adulthood, because the others were ripped apart when raiders caught them. They were weak, but I? I am a true warrior, a survivor. One thing that I always found annoying was how cowards hide behind their tricks and schemes," he said and opened the satchel to reveal its gruesome contents.

Vidar's breath stocked as he saw the head of a rat rolling down to the ground as the wolf let it drop to the ground without a care. "You are a sick bastard. Fine, if you screw the laws, I sentence you to death immediately!"

"Now, you get your chance, if you think you are worthy of the crown," the black lupine said as he threw the satchel aside and returned to his men. "Meet me at my camp at dusk, where we will fight to the death." With his last words spoken, he and his men went off and left the town.

Dagný was taking a relieved breather and then went to the wolverine. "My prince, I wish I could provide you my help, but I fear I have not enough men left to fight. However, I will support you in your position."

"Thanks, Dagný," Vidar replied and gave her a quick hug before he then looked at the remaining people. "Anyone else, who wants to say something?"

Now the young black bear stepped closer. "My father fought against Eirik, and was killed in the process. It would be advisable to plan ahead for when you face him."

"Hallrbjörn, correct?" the wolverine now opened his arms to pull the bear in a friendly hug. "Yeah, I will be planning this ahead. And make sure your father will be avenged."

The black bear smiled shortly and then broke out of the hug to look at the other two jarls. "Right now, there is a lot of young blood in charge. I have looked at Eirik fighting, and you need to be wary that he can remain clear most of the time instead of going into a frenzy."

Vidar nodded at that advice and then looked back at his munt Vigdis and Aldric. "So, I take it that Ingi has prepared his men as well? We need to make sure that the battle ahead is won, so if I should die, he has to do everything in his power to kill Eirik."

"Not sure, if you are pessimistic or realistic there, Vidar, but thanks for trusting that I will tear that bastard a new bloody butthole," a gruff voice now said and a male wolverine stepped to the group and towards Vigdis, pulling her right into a hug and kiss. "Missed me, Honeyheart?"

"I told you not to call me that in front of anyone," Vigdis replied with a mix of annoyance and embarrassment. "Or should I call you Bumblebutt?"

"Ah, nobody needs to know that I got a white and fuzzy, whoops," the wolverine now chuckled in his jest as he turned to Vidar. "Huscarl Ingi Bumblebutt at your service, my prince!"

Aldric now sighed. "Okay, we should go straight to the planning. Are all the men in position and ready to take on the men of Eirik?"

Ingi nodded and then tilted his head a little. "So, you are that badger my wife spend all day with yesterday? Beware, I might get jealous," he joked and then got closer. "Although, she is the dominant one in this relationship."

As a reply to that statement, Vigdis punched Ingi hard enough to make him fly to the ground. "Yeah, I see what you mean, Bumblebutt."

"Okay now, we really should focus on important matters right now," Aldric intervened and then looked at Vidar. "I must admit, you held a nice and short speech there. Straight to the point and with a strong message behind it. Though, I hope you know what you are getting into with this."

The young prince nodded and then went back into the longhouse, where Leofwine was already waiting, leaning at the wall. "Leof? I hope you are not angry that I was dealing with things while you were asleep."

"It is okay," the otter replied with a smile and a hug as he put his arms around Vidar. "I listened to your every word, and I am going to support you in this battle of yours. We need to end this maniac, so I can no longer afford to remain afraid."

As Vidar embraced his lover in return, he could feel the heartbeat of the otter, telling him that the otter was indeed rather afraid. "Leof, I know about the danger I am going to face. And, I am happy that we both share this feeling. Let us plan this battle together, and achieve victory for the future we want to live in."

With the evening approaching, Vidar and a number of warriors were marching towards the camp that Eirik had built up close to Jokulldal. As the young prince was looking at the men on either side, he unsheathed his blade and looked at his armor to make sure that he was protected.

"My prince, are you ready?" Ingi asked as he was glancing at the younger wolverine and holding his battle-axe ready. "We only trained together when I started as a guard of your father, and this is a real battle."

"I am not a fool that things hope and courage win a battle alone," Vidar replied as he was now seeing the wolf standing in the middle of the camp, waiting for him. "Only cold steel will".

Eirik, looking rather annoyed at the young prince, took a great-sword from a weapon shelf and stepped closer to the arriving group. "It would seem that a child has come to fight an elder. Proving just how much this world requires for the weak to perish in order to prosper with those of power."

"Just shut up already," Vidar replied with a glare as he entered the middle of the camp, where the warriors of his and Eirik were now forming a cycle. "Pray that you don't survive, because I have plans for your punishment."

"How cute, a cub showing his first teeth," the wolf replied as he got his blade ready and waited for his opponent to do the same.

As Laevateinn was held in front of him and pointing right at Eirik, the wolverine took initiative and aimed at the lower body of the wolf in order to cut it in two.

Effortlessly, Eirik let his sword swing below and stop Vidar's blade before it could even scratch his pelt. "Hilarious, that was the most predictable move you could have made," he replied and kicked the wolverine right in the face.

Staggering due to the impact on his face, Vidar could barely avoid the swing of Eirik's great-sword as it scratched his left shoulder and left a deep cut. "Bastard! I am going to kill you!" he screamed in pain as he tried to push it aside and get his stance back on track.

"Why do you even try? It is clear that you are not a challenge for me. In fact, you were lucky I was toying with you with the last blow," Eirik now said as got closer to Vidar and smashed his blade again Laevateinn, forcing it out of his opponent's hands. "You may have found your tongue, but you are a weakling and a shame to your family. I may not respect your father, but at the very least he was able to fight. You can't even do that."

Being unarmed, Vidar was now watching at Eirik and thinking hard about how to evade death another time. As the great-sword was getting closer again, he could jump aside and get out of range, but now Eirik was getting closer and ready to swing another time. As his life was suddenly rushing before his inner eye, suddenly a pillar of ice rushed up from the ground and blocked the blade before it could reach the neck of the wolverine.

With his own sword now drawn, Leofwine was stepping into the battle field and pointing it right at Eirik. Saying nothing, he simply gave Vidar enough time to stand up and walk closer to the wolf.

"Curious, someone interfered in this battle that was supposed to be one on one," Eirik stated as he now readied his blade some more. "Say, there is something I have been wondering. Did Vidar find something in Argentflux when you went there?"

"What does it concern you?" the otter replied as his blade began glowing and melting away some of the snow below its tip. "Soon you are where you belong."

"Oh, another one who thinks he can hold speeches to impress me," the wolf replied as he smirked and pulled out a small satchel from a pocket. "I have learned a bit about the phenomenon that was seen in Argentflux. At a similar event I once received one of the two gems within this satchel. Maybe you can help me to complete the collection?"

Now Vidar's eyes widened as he realized that he forgot the gem that was in his possession rather than thrown into the ocean. "You son of a," he now rushed for his sword and got ready to return to battle. "I am not going to have you get your dirty hands on them!"

Smiling at that response, Eirik now focused on Vidar and began to laugh. "So, you have it then? Good, then I will take it from your corpse after this is over. You know, your friend has intervened in an agreed duel. I have no further reason to hold back my men." He now turned back into the crowd of his men and signaled them something with his hand.

Just within a few moments, the men of Eirik were drawing out their weapons and the men of Vidar followed suit, starting the actual battle.

But as metal clashed against metal, from the back rows of the troops of the young wolverine prince Aldric was now giving his signal and a dozen mages were channeling their magic towards the enemy, and causing a light earthquake to shake them in their step, while the men of Vidar could push them further back.

Vidar himself took his sword Laevateinn, and let its magic properties go to work, as the blade was engulfed in flames that burned through his foes as he swung it across lines of enemies in his way, to lead on his men against the enemy jarl.

Seeing that his own men were taking heavy losses, Eirik took his sword again and moved through a line of Jokulldal's armies just as effortlessly as Vidar did through his with the enchanted blade Laevateinn. Eventually he had a few arrows hitting him in the shoulder, though he just ignored them as he was heading straight for the wolverine.

At the other side of the battlefield, Aldric was still fighting with the other mages, while Vigdis was telling the archers the best moment to shoot their arrows. Things seemed rather contained, until suddenly half a dozen of Eirik's units stormed out of the mass of the battle and attacked them.

With the moment as a fox was storming at him, Aldric was now focusing on the earth below him and let the tip of his staff get covered in stone and dirt and smashing the head of the vulpine as he swung it like a war hammer.

The munt Vigdis in the meantime evaded a wolf that rushed at her and snapped his neck in her momentum before she took his axe and chopped off the head of a hare with it.

During this rather heated battle, Leofwine was trying to avoid axes, swords, and maces left and right as he was getting closer to Vidar in order to stay at his side. Due to the amount of people that were fighting however, it was almost impossible for him to pierce through and thus he lost sight of his lover.

Vidar himself was now covered in blood and burned guts as his sword and fury proved to be superior to the fighting skills of all the enemies unfortunate enough to get to close to him. His eyes went into a brutal frenzy, his arms severed heads from bodies, and his consciousness was blocked out by his primal wrath and desire to kill Eirik.

The big wolf however was just as brutal in his endeavors as his blade cut through flesh and bones like butter, and his mind was unnervingly clear as he was getting ever closer to the young wolverine. As his steel swung against that of Vidar, the metaphorical sparks of the two swords were igniting a fire in their minds.

Aldric in the meantime had received several injuries, as he had to fight off more and more of the incoming warriors. As the enemies got more numerous, three of Eirik's men now charged at Aldric in the same moment to have the badger unable to defend himself.

Just as they were about to clash with the shaman however, a burly shape cut off one of their arms, while the other run into a wall of ruble and stone. Völundr was holding his blade tightly as he winked at Aldric and then began to fight against the other men that were now charging at the back rows.

Vigdis meanwhile ripped out someone's heart from his chest, and threw it to the ground as she used the corpse of its former owner as a shield against an incoming mace and cut off the head of whom it belonged to.

In all the blood and gore, he was now finding himself in, Leofwine could feel his stomach revolting, and even spitting out some vomit while he tried to not become a target for the enemy, as he was now getting closer to Vidar and Eirik, and holding his own blade tightly.

The combined fury of the wolverine and wolf already had created a small circle where only fools would have come closer to. Vidar did not even look at anyone but his opponent while his sword was clashing again and again with the blade of Eirik.

Much to his own surprise, the wolf could mostly only parry or get parried, except for a few cuts here and there that they inflicted on each other. Being however rather clear about the situation he was finding himself in, he saw a chance and evaded a single strike and rammed his blade into the right shoulder of the prince.

A painful scream escaped Vidar as he was no longer able to hold his muscle, nerves, and bone were too severely damaged to allow him to further move his arm. His frenzy now was replaced by pure fear, as he found him defenseless against his opponent, and completely open for another strike.

The moment Eirik was about to let his head rush down on the head of Vidar, something in Leofwine's mind snapped and he let his sword heat up again as he rushed towards the enormous canine the tip of his enchanted blade cutting the great-sword apart.

"You little bastard," Eirik exclaimed as he let his now destroyed weapon fall to the ground and grabbed the otter's right arm and let it descend down on his knee, breaking it in the process.

Before Leofwine could even let the pain sink in, he felt how the lupine grabbed him on the throat and pressing his fingers on it. As he was lifted from the ground, his legs trembled around in a futile effort to free himself.

"Leofwine!" Vidar now called out as he saw how the wolf was trying to kill the otter. His fury went now to whole other levels as he ignored his injured right shoulder and got up from the ground. Focusing the energies of his spirit and the magic around him, blue fire formed around his functional left arm as he was throwing a punch right into the lupine stomach. The impact and flames increased the power in Vidar's fist, and pierced right through the intestines and spine.

As his body was severely damaged, Eirik's leg gave in and he fell over and let Leofwine drop out of his grip to crawl backwards with his arms as Vidar was getting closer to him. "No, please. Mercy!"

"Mercy? You made it quite clear that you thought that the strong should kill the weak, didn't you?" Vidar replied as he knelt down on the wolf and let his right knee pin the chest of Eirik down. With a malicious grin, he grabbed the upper muzzle of his enemy and began pulling upwards.

Screaming, as he felt how the wolverine was ripping apart his head, Eirik soon fell silent as Vidar severed the upper skull from the jaw and smashed it to the ground with enough force to shatter the bone and squish the brain.

Leofwine now got closer to him, and focused his own magic to keep the shoulder of Vidar together with a thick layer of ice. "We need to fall back and get Völundr to fix you up."

The wolverine nodded as he and Leofwine wandered backwards through the masses of the troops of Jokulldal, till they went into the backrow, where Aldric and Völundr were already treating several injured men.

Noticing that Vidar was severely hurt, the boar got up immediately to him after he closed the wounds of a mouse and put his hands on the two sides that the cliffing injury created. "This might burn for a while," he said and focused his magic through Vidar's body in the same manner as he trained the day before.

And Vidar would have to admit that it did burn, but after the boar took his hands away it felt worlds better to him as he could feel how his right arm began to be revitalized. "Thanks, Völ."

"Can't let my quasi-brother-in-law down now, can I?" the porcine replied jokingly and then went to Leofwine and held his arm around the sword arm of the otter. "Okay, just a moment."

Leofwine flinched a little as he felt the magic going through him, but as he was capable to move his own arm again he did not complain about it.

It all seemed like a victory at the moment, until suddenly an outburst of energy pushed them all to the ground. As Vidar fell down to the side, he noticed that something was off. He checked his pocket and noticed that the cyan gem he remembered earlier was missing. "Oh shit, the gems!"

Just as he said what he was fearing, three gems in the colors cyan, magenta, and yellow were rising up from the ground and forming a triangle, which was filling out with a powerful black shadow. A moment later it simply vanished.

"I imagined this to be a bit more world destructive," Aldric commented as he got up from the ground and looked up to the sky. "This is rather strange to be honest."

"You can say that again," Vidar agreed as he helped Leofwine up and looked at the battlefield in front of him. "This fight is over. Let us retreat and discuss this at my longhouse."

Back in Jokulldal, Vidar was taking his place on the throne of his longhouse and examining his damaged armor a little. "Okay Igni, did you recover mine and Leof's blades?"

"I have, Prince Vidar," the huscarl replied dutifully and presented the two weapons to their owners. "Furthermore, we have captured all the men of Eirik that survived the battle. We will send them into the dungeons for the time being."

Vidar nodded in agreement and then took a deep breath. "Okay, then we have to discuss what happened with the gems. They just vanished like that."

"Not the easiest thing to predict, but Yishai left me a note about us traveling to Adamas, if something would happen. He did also mention a pathway," Aldric said with a moment of ponderation following it.

"Well, that would be yours truly," a rather familiar voice now said, as suddenly the white shape of Fionnbharr stepped from behind a wall and entered the throne room. "Yishai told me to go to the longhouse of Jokulldal to open a portal to Adamas. This will not be too difficult; in twenty minutes I should be able to open another portal to bring us to that place. I got the images of the place in mind, so we should be fine."

Before Aldric said something, he went over to the young albino badger and pulled him into a hug. "Good to see you, Fionn. Thanks for coming."

"Well, you need some way into Adamas," Fionnbharr replied as he pulled himself free and took seat in a chair for the moment. "We should go as soon as possible. Prepare yourselves and I will bring us there in one go."

"Us?" the shaman now crossed his arms. "You are coming with us to a destroyed city then? Kind of dangerous for a young prince, who is not Vidar," he now glanced the wolverine. "Alright, you are an adult, so I am not going to play the overprotective older brother. We got Ninniaw for that."

Fionnbharr laughed at that remark. "I left him a note, so he is probably going to be very, very pissed once I am back. Anyway, I am not going to let the chance slide to explore a forsaken city from a long forgotten past."

"Good, then let us get there as soon as you feel ready," Aldric said with a smile before he turned to the others. "Okay, we need a few things to bring with us. Get knapsacks and fill them with resources."

Völundr and Leofwine nodded as he went off in their search for as much food and water to bring with them as possible, while Vidar now got up from his throne and looked at Vigdis and Ingi. "While I am away again, please take care of business here and find my father to tell him that I am alive and well. I am going to return safely, I promise."

The munt and huscarl nodded. Vigdis then took a deep breath and looked at Fionnbharr. "We will be waiting. And in the meantime, we will bring Kjeld to his new home in this longhouse. With Eirik dead and Vidar as our future king, we will be facing a prosperous time of peace ahead of ourselves."

"In case I should not return however, I might should make clear who is the next in line, just so that we avoid any issues. I will give the charge to Dagný, if I should not return. She is reasonable and would remain on the same course as I would," Vidar commanded and then smiled. "Aldric, what do you think about me right now?"

"Hmm, how about I would say, you are less of an idiot than when we first met," the badger replied with a smug grin and slapped the wolverine on the left shoulder. "To be honest, I finally don't feel like I am your babysitter anymore."

Vidar laughed at that remark. "I take that as a compliment," he said and pulled Aldric into a hug. "Thanks. I honestly have to say, I hardly ever had a friend like you."

"Is that a compliment or are you saying that I am the biggest jerk you know?" the badger jested as he got out of the hug and moved towards the wall adorned with skulls of several foes that King Bjartr once slew. "I am curious about what is coming at us."

"That much we will find out one the two other guys are back," Fionnbharr said as he was now closing his eyes and chuckling a little. "Enough time to rest a little."

About thirty minutes later Völundr and Leofwine came back with four knapsacks that were filled to the brim with food, water, and tools. "Sorry guys, we took a bit to prepare everything, but we are ready so far."

Fionnbharr chuckled a bit as he got up from the chair and took a deep breath. As he began channeling his magic and making a circular motion with his arms, a portal opened up right at the wall behind him. "See you on the other side!" he said before he stepped through and disappeared.

Aldric followed right away, followed by Vidar, Leofwine and Völundr shortly after. The shaman was first blinded as he found himself going through the portal, but then as he was on the other side, his eyes went wide in awe as he looked around himself. "Great Mother, this is the city of Adamas," he stated as he glanced at the massive buildings of concrete and glass around them.

"The ruins of a massive city, destroyed within just a moment of history itself," Fionnbharr said as he looked up towards the dome that was partially imitating the sky. "I am curious why there is a dome here, while otherwise the city was open towards the firmament in my visions."

"Maybe we can find that out while we research this place?" Leofwine suggested as he held close to Vidar and then looked a bit nervously at the realization of the size of the city. "How about we split up and relocate at," he now looked around and fixed his glance on the tallest tower of the city. "That place over there. We can find it from the entire city, so it should be easy to get back to it. I am however really surprised at how high those buildings are."

"Since this is probably an abandoned city, I might go by myself for now," Völundr said as he now looked at the side of a completely destroyed building. "Maybe also to ponder about some life choices. Plus, I think Vidar and Leofwine should have some chance to get close, you know."

The shaman now rubbed his chin and then nodded. "I am okay with that. Those ruins are ten thousand years old, so we do need to make sure that things are stable before we enter, of course."

"Good, we should be going to the building to regroup in about, well, whenever two days are over," Vidar suggested as he put an arm around Leofwine. "Or maybe three, and we have a day for ourselves?"

Aldric sighed. "Some old habits die hard. Okay, we need to find clues about the gems and how to defeat whatever is going to be awakened by them. I will stay with Fionnbharr, and protect him."

"Two days, clue finding, evaluation, restocking, got it," Völundr said with a smile and then took off into the vast cityscape of Adamas.

Fionnbharr now glanced over to the side of the building that was the tallest in the city and their future meeting point. "Okay, see you two in a few days," he said and then took off with Aldric in the other direction.

Now as Vidar and Leofwine were by themselves, the wolverine put his arm around the otter and wandered off casually with him towards a tower in the far distance. Not knowing what would lie ahead of them, the city of Adamas now would once again be the stage for events to come.

"Analyze completed. Surface dwellers detected," a figure in the shadows said as he was looking at the split-up groups from the window of one of the buildings and holding a small object in front of his face. It appeared to be canine in appearance, rather similar to a wolf, but with different proportions overall. "I shall commence the observation to see, if they are friend or foe."