Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 286: CCLXXXVI. The Authority

As Ellen continued to ride fast toward the first of the villages that survived the attacks, Dag, Kjell, Gridd, and Reidar stayed further behind, looking around.

The scenery was rather bleak and the skeletons of the fishermen's small houses were right in front of them, while the blood of the victims of the giants still bathed the soil around them.

"Oh my goodness" Reidar stammered, who despite not making such exclamations, couldn't hold back.

The archer slightly diverted the direction of his horse to be able to look closely at the wretched one, while the others followed him with their eyes.

The pile of wood, corpses, and utensils of various kinds was all that remained of two adjacent villages: the wooden beams seemed to have been broken with force, despite being very resistant.

On some of them, he even managed to distinguish the bloodshed of some poor victim who had tried unnecessarily to get to safety.

Reidar got off his horse, plunging into a deep sense of despondency at the thought that those poor fishermen had done no harm, yet they had been brutally killed.

Near the remains of a bonfire, now extinguished, with a pot full of soup half toppled to the ground and a large wooden ladle next to it, two corpses caught his eye.

When he was close enough to notice the details, he discovered that it was a young woman who died with her daughter, a little girl still holding her rag puppet in one hand, while the other was held tight by her mother.

"Reidar!" Dag called, recalling his companion, who before turning to him, stood still for a few seconds to watch that sad scene.

"They didn't spare the kids either, Captain..." he whispered, his gaze pointed downwards. 

"I know, brother... I can see it with my own eyes. The Clans of Krypstorm are not like the ones we already met. Yes, the Horns Of Heimdallr and the Fangs Of Jormungandr are not joking about nastiness, but... I think the brutality of these Jotunns is on another level, definitely worse" Dag said, urging Reidar to ride Ace again.

Gridd remained silent, disgusted to notice the conditions in which those monsters had reduced the villages. 

"Ellen and Kjell went that way... let's follow them" Dag continued, urging Aslan and riding towards the top of the rocky coast.

Leaving behind that apocalyptic scenario, they arrived in front of the first of the surviving villages, characteristic for very long fishing rods that protruded from the high cliff, reaching the sea from the village.

The two allied Masters were talking to a Shieldmaiden, who judging by her armor was one of the Clan's guards left monitoring the place after the incident.

Meanwhile, a couple of elderly gentlemen approached them, who got off their horses to interact with them.

"Boy! Listen to the words of this old man... you have to escape from here! Warn all the warriors of Okstorm and the capital! The giants are back! The gates of Jotunheim have been opened!" shouted one of them, throwing himself at Dag and grabbing his armor with both hands, tugging at him.

For a moment, Dag was surprised by that wave of madness by the old man and immediately stepped back, restoring the right distances.

"Don't worry, my friend... we are here to help you" he said, as his interlocutor's grainy eyes were on him and his companions.

"You don't understand... we won't be the only ones to die! You have to warn everyone else, otherwise, it will be too late! My children live in the Sjonir region... please, I don't want them to die, they're so young, they still have so much to learn!" replied the man, grabbing Dag for the armor again, forcing him for the second time to detach him by force.

"No one will die! Neither your children nor you! As long as we're here, you're all safe. Now, I have a few questions for you. By working together, we're going to be able to prevent more attacks by those bastards... all clear?" Dag insisted, taking full control of the situation and calming the upset man.

Dag's authoritative speech caught the attention of Ellen and Kjell, who approached him, listening to what he had to say.

"Come, gather round everybody! Help us understand... how many giants did you see last day? How exactly were they looked like? Were they all the same size, or was someone slightly smaller? Did they fight with only physical force or did you notice some kind of weird spell?" Dag asked aloud, pulling Aslan's bridles so as not to make him shake as the whole village gathered in front of him.

"There were more than ten, sir!" 

"Yes, it's true! I remember one of them had a big hammer!" 

"The one with the hammer was nothing compared to that giant holding two axes!" 

In a more or less orderly manner, about all the villagers said something, exposing to Dag and the other warriors their precise memories.

"Anything else? Did any of you understand something about the reason why they attacked Runar?" Dag yelled as Ellen turned to the people, curious about her Warchief's investigative method.

"I'm not so sure, but... I think I've heard two of them talking about some kind of crystal..." a little girl whispered in fear, who came out slowly from the crowd of villagers, her face and clothes dirty with mud.

Dag walked towards the little girl and bend over to her, who looked away, embarrassed, blushing on her cheeks.

"A crystal? What else did you hear from them? Please try to remember, we need your help to get to the root of the problem..." he said, looking at her and smiling, trying to inspire her confidence.

"I... I don't know... my village has been completely destroyed, it's one of those over there... my parents and my brother are all dead, I was able to hear only this before I ran away..." the little girl continued, beginning to cry and wiping away tears with the dirty sleeves of her dress.

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