"Wake up!" Hrolfr barely had time to react, as he felt small hands on his back pushing him forward. Stumbling, he had to put his hand out to catch himself from falling flat on his face, almost losing the pack of supplies on his back and watching as all twenty arrows fell out of his quiver and onto the ground in front of him. Playful laughter echoed behind him as he rose, turning to the culprit. Smiling, his sister kept walking on the road, going around and ahead of him. "Best hurry up, I don't want to leave ye behind." Sighing, he hurriedly picked up his arrows.
"Ye know. . ." He started, as he had just caught up with Kelda. He heard a horse up ahead, and by the sound it was in a dead-run. The rider came barreling around the curve, the trees hiding how close he was, and just like that he was almost on top of them. He grabbed his sister's forearm and pulled her to the side of the road just in time to save them both from being trampled. Hrolfr turned, watching as the rider bolted down the trail at full speed, not even glancing over to acknowledge them. "To the ravens with that son of a whore," Hrolfr spat.
"He was a courier," Kelda chimed in, brushing the dirt off of her fur skirts. "Did ye see the case on his side?" He didn't, but he did see the mans cloak. It bore the sigil of Sparrowton.
"Aye well, whatever he was the next time I see him I'll knock him off that horse of his." They continued walking. "Right on his arse!"
Fucker almost killed us, he brooded to himself.
As they rounded the curve, he could see the small village in the distance. It was down in the valley, so he could see it in it's entirety. The road sloped down in almost a straight path to the front entrance. It was too small a town to have a proper stone wall, but it did have a wall made of thick wooden poles that were sharpened into points at the top, all aligned parallel side-by-side. There was a small narrow walkway along the top of the barrier where he could see about three men looking out. And then he noticed the smoke.
Thick black smoke was rolling out from about six different buildings, all connecting into one pillar above the town. It reached up into the sky high before leaning to the south. He could also see men dragging the dead into a pile into the center of town. Hrolfr glanced over to his sister, partly to see if she was seeing the same thing he was. His fear was confirmed when he was looking at the worried faced staring back at him. After a moment of pause to take in what they saw, they continued on to the main "gate", which wasn't a gate at all but an opening where the barrier stopped. Seeing the ground he could tell that this is where the main battle happened, before whoever broke through to set fire to the village.
Who was stupid enough to attack head-on like this? Last he heard everyone was allies, but he was never much on the happenings of the realm.
Just as they had stepped through the opening passed the wall, they heard a man to the left yell "Halt!", as three other guards walked up to them with hands on weapons. "Who are ye and what the fuck ye want here?" Hrolfr could tell by their expressions they weren't about to take any more chances with strangers.
Don't blame 'em, he thought.
"I'm Hrolfr, and this is my sister Kelda. We come from Beornhall, planin' to stay here a few nights before passin' through." He decided that he wouldn't tell them that they had planned to move here. Whatever this place was, it was clear a man would
not find a peaceful life here. "What in Thor's name happened here?" he asked.
"What's it look like? We were raided."
No kidding, he thought instantly after the guard's reply.
"Aye, I can see that. But by
who?" The guards exchanged glances, as if they didn't know whether they should tell them what happened or not. It was very strange, as if they were protecting their enemies. Maybe they were threatened to not warn others? He didn't know. "Well?" Hrolfr pressed.
"Come with me." The first guard looked at him, before turning and walking through the center of town, waving away the other three guards at the same time. They had released their weapons and went back to helping the villagers to rebuild and clear away the damage. They were being lead to the main hall, where the main authority of a town would live. The guard lead them through the thick oak doors into the warmth. The torches were lit, and the big fire was burning in the center of the circular room, but the hall wasn't lit by fire. There was a large circular opening straight above the fire pit, which let the light of the day in and the smoke from the fire out. The hall was completely empty.
The guard lead them passed the empty chair that was on a raised platform in the back of the hall, into a side room behind the wall, where there were three men around a table. Two middle aged and one older man with long white hair and beard. The older man was staring at the table listening to the other two argue, when he looked up at the three of them enter the room. The talking stopped as all eyes were on him and his sister. The guard moved over to the side
"This is Hrolfr and Kelda, travelers from Beornhall. They want to know who attacked us, my Thane." The room was as silent as the grave.
