Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 287: CCLXXXVII. The First Victim

Dag put his hand on her head to stroke her brown hair, sighing.

"Thank you very much" he answered, returning back to the horse and leaving both her and the other fishermen open-mouthed, not explaining why to such an important warrior, who wore such beautiful armor and carried magnificent weapons, cared for their opinion. 

Ellen continued to look at Dag, who looked back and then turned to the remaining soldiers on guard.

"Were there any other attacks? Have you seen any other enemy ships?" he inquired again, who was now the center of the scene.

The Shieldmaiden looked at Ellen, not knowing whether to answer Dag, totally ignoring his identity.

Ellen nodded her head and the soldier replied: "No, there was no other attack attempt, but this morning, one of our people caught a glimpse of a boat in the distance. He doesn't know if it was an enemy boat, the distance was really remarkable" the soldier coldly replied, respecting Dag's highest rank, who after those words looked around him, searching for the soldier she spoke about.

"It's me, sir. I saw her. It had only one large sail mounted on a foremast in the middle of the boat and perfectly suited the stories of these people" another soldier exclaimed, who, after being called upon, came forward.

"A roundabout... they're studying our movements... these enemies are using a strategic approach technique, they are definitely looking for something in particular. We have to figure out where this crystal they were talking about is" Dag replied.

"There are no mines in this area... besides, are we sure it's reliable information, Dag? I mean, we can't just rely on a little girl's words" Ellen answered, as the little girl who had earlier spoken to Dag, retreated in embarrassment, disappearing into the crowd before he could stop her.

"Master Ellen... of course we can't just go on a hunch. But I've learned not to underestimate what people say. They were the first to deal with those monsters, especially that little girl, whose village was razed to the ground. I think it's better to stay here until we spot some suspicious ships again" he continued, looking Reidar in the eye, who approved the decision. 

Kjell placed a hand on Ellen's shoulder, who was ready to respond, and said: "Yes we can do this, I think it's the right move. Just as our soldiers have failed to distinguish the details of that ship by excessive distance, our enemies will never be able to notice our presence. If they attack the villages again in search of this 'crystal' we are discussing about, we will be here waiting for them".

Dag nodded his head, as did the rest of the soldiers, who obeyed the new dispositions. 

"My gentlemen, we spent the night in that barn. It would be an honor to let you stay there" a young allied soldier said, pointing to a nearby hut, with a thatched roof and slightly sloping walls.

Ellen made her way to the barn, without saying a word, a little dissatisfied that even her colleague had given reason to Dag, who at that moment approached the group of soldiers, saying: "I thank you very much, but I think I will sleep by the sea, to enjoy the mild climate of the beach and be able to immediately notice the looming dangers ".

"All right, sir. But are you sure you can see something? It will be very dark at night, there is no lighting pointing towards the sea..." asked the Shieldmaiden that seemed to be in charge of that surveillance troop.

"Don't worry... I have a good sense of sight" Dag replied, winking at that incredibly serious woman.

After arguing with the soldiers and questioning other citizens, he and Reidar climbed back onto the horses, intending to inspect the beach, hoping to find some other clues.

Kjell, Ellen, and Gridd decided to stay in that village, trying to arrange an evacuation plan in case of sudden attacks.

As they rode by the sea, the two companions remained silent, trying to sharpen the view.

Passed the rubble of the first village, where the body of the woman and the little girl were still clearly visible near the remains of the bonfire, they found themselves near the second destroyed village, less than 400 meters far.

Dag pulled the bridles of Aslan, then stopped and got off his back. 

"Captain, what did you see?" Reidar asked, keeping on following him.

Dag paused, focusing on a particular spot and pointing his finger at it.

"Oh fuck..." Reidar exclaimed when he understood what had caught the attention of his Captain.

The corpse of a man sitting on the ground, his shoulders resting on the remains of shattered wooden beams.

Near the body, there were huge half-footprints erased by water and wind: judging by their size, those footprints certainly belonged to the Jotunns and Dag was able to imagine their morphology.

They were large pseudo-circular furrows, left by huge fingerless feet, similar to the legs of elephants.

But that wasn't the only weirdness. 

The man's corpse was completely dried up, drained: his skin seemed to have been stripped of all fluid and his muscles were gone, giving way to the angular bones, which could be seen under the thin layer of skin.

His face, despite having a beard and white hair, was totally hollowed out, so much so that his eyes had entered the cavities of the skull, twisting on themselves and his lips had disappeared, showing the yellowed and rotten teeth.

"This corpse definitely has something wrong... look, Reidar. Despite being in this state only for a few days, he already seems to be in an advanced state of decomposition, as if he had been here for months. There is nothing left of this man's face, but both the hair and the beard are in place, as well as the ears and nose, that being mainly made up of cartilage, are usually the first parts to wear down soon after death" Dag said, leaning slightly towards the corpse to observe it better, despite the stench that emanated.

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